The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Primer on life after graduation: Leonetti has painting business
Anthony Leonetti scored one of the biggest touchdowns in the history of John Carroll football.
It was the second TD of his football career. In 2016 against Wesley in an NCAA second-round playoff game, Leonetti hauled in a pass out of the backfield from quarterback Anthony Moeglin, ran 14 yards and dove into the end zone for a dramatic 20-17 overtime victory.
“That was one of the best moments of my life,” said Leonetti, a fullback for JCU in 2016.
That TD helped pave the way to the Blue Streaks’ run to a Division III national semifinal. Leonetti played one more season with JCU in 2017, and now his football career is over.
The NDCL graduate’s time at the university is not. He’s approaching the stretch run at JCU the same way he did as a football player: Doing whatever it takes to be a success.
Leonetti is set to graduate in December 2018. He won’t play for JCU next fall as his eligibility has expired. That doesn’t mean he won’t miss the game.
“If I could play one more season, I would,” he said.
He will miss the competitiveness of football, but Leonetti is getting his fix from another outlet. The 21-year-old from Lyndhurst applied among 3,000 and landed one of 300 internships nationwide for College Works Painting.
The internship allows Leonetti to get a heads start on a business career, and he’s loving every minute of the experience. It started in February and ends in September. The winter months have consisted of Leonetti landed clients (he’s up to nearly 10), with the exterior and interior paint jobs beginning in June. He’s currently in the process of hiring painters.
He’s undertook the internship while taking a full load of 18 credit hours this semester, and has already booked $30,000 worth of sales for the summer. The figure ranks in the top 20 of the 300 interns nationwide.
Leonetti is a finance major, and wants to run his own business upon graduation. So he couldn’t have found a better opportunity than being a head honcho who’s already realizing the ups and downs of being a boss.
“At first, sales were great, then I hit a rough stretch,” he said. “That’s how (businesses work). You’re gonna fail sometimes, but it’s how you bounce back.”
His career as a JCU football player played out in similar fashion. It began with an eye-opener. At NDCL, Leonetti was a standout offensive lineman, but that changed when he arrived at college.
“The coaches switched me to defensive line,” said Leonetti. “In summer camp, I was last on the depth chart, 14th out of 14.”
Eventually, he was asked to move back to offensive line, which he agreed to but not without some disappointment.
“I’m thinking, ‘I’m never going to play,’ “said Leonetti.
But by his sophomore season in 2015, he was the first reserve on the O-line, but then came another position change. For 2016, he was a fullback.
“At that point, I’m like, ‘Do I even come back to play?’ ”
He did, and caught his memorable TD vs. Wesley. Last season (you guessed it), another position switch came about under firstyear coach Rick Finotti, as he spent the season as the backup tight end. The lessons of his four seasons at JCU might be the biggest learning tool he’s brought to his painting internship.
“For me, competition is big,” said Leonetti. “I love competing for everything. Football played a huge role why I went for this. I competed with a lot of people to get this, and I competed hard to get where I did in football.
“I was told there would be a lot of pressure, and that this would be a roller coaster with a lot of ups and downs.”
Much like his college football career.