Unplanned year a blessing for Leavell
Most NCAA Division III football players don’t get the opportunity to spend five years with one program. That wasn’t the case for senior running back Willie Leavell with Waynesburg University.
“My time at Waynesburg, being part of the football team was great,” Leavell said. “I learned so many lessons about being a good teammate, being accountable, and being a man that I could take with me for the rest of my life. Not to mention we won a lot of games these past five years which made it memorable.”
Leavell came to Waynesburg in 2011 from Midland Heights, Ohio as a major in the Business Department. Leavell did not see varsity action during his first year on campus as he suffered a knee injury the first day of contact practice and was sidelined for the year.
“One challenge that I faced was the long period of rehab that I endured,” Leavell said. “It was tough but my faith and family helped me overcome that. Also not being able to be out on the field playing was tough for me it really made me gain that love for the game back and I knew I had to do whatever it took to get back out there.”
Leavell got the chance to become a medical redshirt because of the MBA program with Waynesburg. Head coach Rick Shepas was glad to see that his player got another opportunity to play four years of football.
“It worked out perfectly for us and for Willie that he could work on his MBA as a redshirt senior,” Shepas said. “He stuck with us and got to play out his career. We are just thankful that it all worked out with the MBA program, our sports medicine and everyone else that helped Willie throughout the process.”
In his first season of seeing varsity action, Leavell made the most out of every opportunity he could. In the 2012 season, Leavell vvvvvwas named the Presidents’ Athletic Conference Special Teams Player of the Week and the Eastern College Athletic Conference Division III Southwest Special Teams Player of the Week.
In 2013, Leavell scored five touchdowns and also averaged 26 yards on kick returns. The 2014 season was the year Leavell broke out for the Yellow Jackets. Leavell scored seven total touchdowns with a kickoff return average of 25 yards and 14 yards on punts. Leavell was honored that season as a PAC Special Teams Player of the Week, first-team All-PAC All-Purpose Player and Second-team All-PAC Returner.
In his final season, Leavell scored three touchdowns and averaged another 20-plus return average for kickoffs. He also represented Waynesburg at the PAC media day last August. In the five years Leavell has been apart of the football team, the Yellow Jackets went 33-20 overall, with a 25-15 record in conference.