SYRACUSE - How good is Wawasee quarterback Joe Leach?

You can ask his coach, Joe Reitveld.

Or maybe you should talk to the coaching staffs at the University of Toledo or Dayton or the bundles of other colleges that have taken quite an interest in the 6-foot-3 senior from Syracuse.

And the answer from all of them would probably be the same: REAL good.

For the second straight, year Leach has been named the Times-Union Offensive Player of the Year.

Leach is being courted by several D-I schools, including Northwestern, but it's not clear-cut that he's best quarterback in his conference.

Concord senior Bob Cira led his team to a Class 4A state runner-up.

Any other year, Leach would be a cinch for the North-South All-Star team and any other accolades thrown to high school quarterbacks in Indiana.

Regardless of who believes Cira is better or whether it's Leach, the starting quarterback for the North team will almost assuredly come from the Northern Lakes Conference.

Leach earned All-NLC honors, All-State honors and places on the South Bend Tribune's Dream Team, Class 4A Team and the Bloomington Herald-Times Top 33.

What Leach has is a solid frame to go with a strong arm and deceiving quickness. Top that off with chops in the classroom, it's no wonder why college coaches are looking at the talented signal caller.

Leach finished his season with more than 1,500 yards rushing and 2,000 yards passing. Leach threw or ran for an incredible 45 touchdowns.

Despite all the responsibilites, Leach didn't mind.

"I kind of like pressure put on me. Coach Rietveld got me used to it. I would rather have it on me than some younger guys," said Leach.

According to Rietveld, Leach's already mind-boggling stats could have been even showier.

"He could have had gaudier stats had we thrown the ball more," said Rietveld. "But we wouldn't have been successful. Joe understood that and was a total team player."

The rushing stats tend to jump off the page when looking at Leach. But Rietveld is quick to note that despite Leach's rushing ability he's a true quarterback.

"He's definitely not a running back who plays quarterback but a quarterback who can run. Joe can do what (other quarterbacks in college) do. He has all the ability," said Rietveld.

What also makes Leach appealing to colleges is his attitude.

Sometimes the star quarterback label comes with a star quarterback attitude.

That's not the case with Leach.

"The more successful he was on the field the more humble he became off the field. He knows that he wouldn't be able to sit back and do what he does without help and he's quick to give other guys credit," said Rietveld.

"We all really worked hard this summer and the young guys really stepped up for us," said Leach.

Leach's interests outside of football include working with his youth group at Nappanee Missionary Church.

Besides basketball, Leach also is a member of the track and basketball team.

Leach is waiting on making a college choice until after the basketball season.

Leach has been a part of the Wawasee program since he became a ball boy for the team in grade school.

Now, as he gets ready to move on to bigger things in college, he'll always hold a special place for Wawasee.

"He's a great kid," said Rietveld. "He's been a big part of this program."

Leach is the son of Janie Oswald and Greg Leach. [[In-content Ad]]