25  Leonard Paulk
	Class: Graduated Hometown: Columbia, S.C. High School: Richland Northeast Height / Weight: 5-11 / 199 Position: Defensive Back Experience: 3L

Career Statistics

Projected to take over full-time leadership as the Pirates' top boundary cornerback after patiently waiting for an opportunity behind three-year All-Conference USA performer Emanuel Davis ... Strength, quickness, lateral movement, hitting prowess and cover abilities have allowed for a long tenure on ECU's depth chart, albeit as a top reserve and top-tier special teams contributor until now ... Has a championship on his resume as one of only three rookies to experience significant action on a senior-laden defense that played a pivotal role helping the Pirates capture their second consecutive Conference USA title in 2009 ... Registered one tackle in the spring's first scrimmage on March 31 before adding three stops and an interception during the second intra-squad matchup the following week ... Did not record statistics during the Purple-Gold Game ... Produced impressive results during the strength and conditioning testing period to earn "super" designation ... Currently is the all-time position (cornerback) record-holder for lifts in the bench press (360 pounds) and power clean (318) ... Also produced notable lifts in the back squat (480) and jerk (1,230 watts), while turning in a 40 time of 4.48.

2011 Game-by-Game Statistics
2011: Served as a reserve in the secondary and a key member of the special teams' units for the second-straight year ... Played in all 12 games and started one, the season-opener against South Carolina ... Tallied 28 tackles, eight solo, and one quarterback hurry (South Carolina) during the campaign ... Finished second on the squad with 14 special teams hits ... Trailed only Rahkeem Morgan with 10 kickoff return stops and four tackles on punt runbacks ... Of 14 non-special teams hits, 11 were on rushing plays and three on passes ... Registered 17 of year's 28 tackles during Conference USA games ... Collected 16 stops during the first six contests of the year and 12 over the final six ... Booked a pair of stops on kickoff returns versus UCF, knocking down Rannell Hall once in the third quarter and again in the fourth ... As a reserve in the secondary, tallied a pair of hits in the fourth quarter versus Tulane and added a punt return stop during the frame ... Finished one tackle shy of career high at Memphis, booking five with four in the second half ... Also established personal best with four solo stops versus the Tigers ... Year's other four solo tackles were recorded against Virginia Tech, Houston, Navy and Tulane ... Tallied all three stops against Virginia Tech in the third quarter with a pair of rushing hits and one stop on a kickoff return ... Made first career start against South Carolina and booked a personal-best six tackles, all assists ... Registered career's first quarterback hurry in the contest, forcing a Connor Shaw incompletion during the Gamecocks' second drive ... Recorded stops on the first two plays of the game versus South Carolina.

2010 Game-by-Game Statistics
2010: A reserve member of the secondary who played a vital role on the special teams' squads and experienced action in all 13 games ... Recorded 15 tackles with eight solo hits and seven assists ... Finished the season second on the squad with 13 special teams' tackles ... Tied Damon Magazu for the team lead with 11 kickoff return stops ... Booked only two non-special teams tackles of the season against SMU with a pair of fourth-quarter hits (one rush, one pass) ... One of just six Pirates with multiple stops on punt returns (two) ... Collected year-best three tackles against SMU and Tulsa ... Other multi-stop efforts were against Southern Miss (two), UCF (two) and Maryland (two) ... Notched a pair of solo hits in road contests against the Golden Eagles and Knights ... Made a solo stop versus Marshall, UAB and Rice.

2009 Game-by-Game Statistics
2009: Recorded playing time in 13 of 14 contests, experiencing action in the Pirate secondary in five games ... Valuable member of the special teams whose 10 stops ranked third on the squad ... All 10 special teams tackles were on kickoff returns (second on unit) ... Booked 15 total tackles with seven solo drops ... Tallied a career-high three stops at West Virginia and against Rice ... Season-best two solo tackles came at Tulsa ... Credited with a pair of stops against UAB and Southern Miss ... Made one tackle vs. North Carolina, UCF and Memphis ... Forced the first fumble of his career in the opening quarter against Southern Miss, jarring the ball loose from Damion Fletcher and halting a Golden Eagle drive on the ECU three-yard line ... Stop of Fletcher was for a two-yard loss, resulting in only tackle for a lost yardage.

2008: Redshirted during initial season in the Pirate program ... Officially signed with the ECU program in February, 2008.

High School: A three-year letterman, two-year starter and team captain for coach Jay Frye at Richland Northeast High School ... Booked 97 tackles (seven for lost yardage), two sacks, 13 pass deflections, three forced fumbles, two recovered fumbles, two interceptions and five quarterback pressures as a senior to help guide the Cavaliers to a 7-5 record and co-region championship ... Returned one interception for 70 yards ... Also scored three touchdowns on returns as member of special teams ... Tallied 75 tackles, including six behind the line of scrimmage, along with two sacks, five pass breakups, five fumble recoveries and four pressures during junior campaign ... Turned one fumble recovery into a score in 2006 ... Racked up 10 stops as a sophomore during RNHS's 11-2 season that resulted in a region title and state runner-up finish ... Also picked up letters in track (three) and wrestling (one) ... Competed in the 100, 200 and 400-meter dash while also serving as a member of the 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams ... Rated among scout.com's top 25 defensive backs in the state of South Carolina and top 110 nationally ... Rated as the No. 32 overall recruit in South Carolina according to SuperPrep Magazine ... Attended ECU Summer Football Camp ... An outstanding student who was a member of the National Honor Society, Senior House, Palmetto Boys State and the Omicron Iota Lambda Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity ... Named Richland Northeast's Outstanding Senior, Most Athletic and Mr. Northeast ... Also held membership in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes.

Personal: Full name is Leonard Revell Paulk III ... Born November 25, 1990 at Savannah, Ga., thus spent most of his redshirt campaign as a 17-year-old ... Son of Leonard and Sonya Paulk ... Earned a bachelor's degree in physical education during ECU's 2012 Spring Commencement Exercises ... Currently pursuing a second undergraduate degree (health education and promotion) ... A strong performer in the classroom who has earned selection to ECU's Honor Roll (3.0 grade point average or higher) as recently as the spring of 2012 ... Also named to the institutional Honor Roll for the spring semester (2011) ... Lists David Garrard as all-time favorite Pirate player ... Lists drawing as top hobby ... Spent summers working as a recreational aide at the Boys and Girls Club (youth center) ... Brother Rodney earned freshman All-America honors as a linebacker in 2006 as a member of the South Carolina football program while cousin Tim (Paulk) was an All-Southeastern Conference linebacker at Florida and a seventh-round draft choice of the Atlanta Falcons in 1992.