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Amaun Williams of Milwaukee Riverside selected to receive Jim Leonhard Award

11/20/2019, 2:00pm CST
By Travis Wilson

Wisconsin Sports Network and WisSports.net are proud to announce Milwaukee Riverside's Amaun Williams as the 2019 recipient of the Jim Leonhard Award as the most outstanding senior defensive back in Wisconsin, part of the WSN Senior Football Awards.

Williams has been a dynamic playmaker for several seasons for the Tigers, playing much bigger than his 5'8" size due to outstanding length and leaping ability.

Committed to Wisconsin as a preferred walk-on, he has been named the league's Defensive Player of the Year the last two seasons. As a senior, he recorded 32 tackles and six interceptions in the regular season.

Williams repeated on the Wisconsin Football Coaches Association Large Schools All-State team as a senior.

Finalists for the award were Williams, Lucas Finnessy of Sussex Hamilton, Logan Geissler of Bay Port, Sam Jung of Neenah, Dominick Landphier of Sun Prairie, and Cole Wisniewski of Sparta.

Past winners of the award include Marquette's Michael Trotter (2009), Appleton North's Joe Makeever (2010), Edgar's Kyle Schueller (2011), Whitefish Bay's Jackson Weber (2012), Appleton North's Connor Rolain (2013), Kimberly's Bret Verstegen (2014), Marquette's Michael Crowley (2015), Monona Grove's Jarrett Maier (2016), Waunakee's Lucas Statz (2017), and La Crosse Central's David Hayden (2018).

The award is named after Jim Leonhard, one of the most beloved players from the state of Wisconsin. Hailing from tiny Tony, Wisconsin and attending Flambeau High School, Leonhard was a two-time All-State selection. He walked-on at the University of Wisconsin, and quickly established himself as a leader and outstanding player. He started 39 games in his career, and his 21 career interceptions are tied for the most in Badger history and fourth in the Big Ten. He also broke the Big Ten punt return yardage record. Leonhard went undrafted, but hooked on with the Buffalo Bills before moving to the Baltimore Ravens, New York Jets, and Cleveland Browns. He is now a very successful assistant coach back at Wisconsin.

The voting panel for the WSN Senior Football Awards consisted of:  Travis Wilson, WSN General Manager and Head Football Writer;  Norbert Durst, WSN Content Manager; Dennis Semrau, ESPN Madison; B.J. DeGroot, WSCO The Score 95.3 in Appleton; Curt Hogg, NOW Newspapers; Dan Barwick, WSN Contributor; Colton Wilson, WSN Content Producer; Fan Vote

About the Author

Travis Wilson serves as the WisSports.net General Manager, Football Editor, and contributing writer for other parts of the site. Wilson was selected as part of the Sports 40 Under 40 list by Coach & AD Magazine and the National High School Athletic Coaches Association for 2019. The Wisconsin Football Coaches Association (WFCA) named Travis the 2015 recipient of the Dave McClain Distinguished Service Award. He currently serves on the WFCA Executive Board and is a member of the Executive Board of the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association. A graduate of Richland Center High School and Mount Mercy College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Travis was a three-sport athlete in high school (football, baseball, basketball), inducted to the Richland Center High School Hall of Fame in 2023, and currently resides in Reedsburg. You can follow him on Twitter at @travisWSN.

For the latest and most up to date football news and recruiting information, follow Travis on Twitter @travisWSN. Email story ideas, recruiting info, etc. to Travis at travis(at)wissports.net.

Tag(s): News Archive  News  Travis Wilson  Senior FB Awards