After a stellar career at South Carolina State, HBCU Gameday has announced Darius Leonard as its National Defensive Player of the Year. This award is sponsored exclusively by the site's partners at Protect Your Skull.

The linebacker is the reigning back-to-back MEAC Defensive Player of the Year and favored by many to be selected in the later rounds of the upcoming NFL Draft. Leonard finished this past season with 114 tackles, 8.5 sacks and a pair of interceptions. The 6-foot-3, 236-pound star could turn even more heads once the combine period begins and possibly improve his draft prospects.

HBCU Gameday's honor is just the latest; Leonard was also an FCS First Team All-American, BoxToRow Defensive Player of the Year, and finished fifth in voting for the Buck Buchanan Award -- which is given to the best defensive player in all of FCS.

Click here to read HBCU Gameday's article on Leonard.