Leon O'Neal Jr. (born December 23, 1998) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

for the Houston Roughnecks of the United Football League (UFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, TA&M, or TAMU) is a public university, public, Land-grant university, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas, United States. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of ...

. He has been a member of the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL), the

Saskatchewan Roughriders The Saskatchewan Roughriders are a professional Canadian football team based in Regina, Saskatchewan. The Roughriders compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West Division. The Roughriders were founded in 19 ...

and

Edmonton Elks The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division (CFL), West Division and plays their home games at Commonw ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

(CFL), and the Massachusetts Pirates of the

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional indoor American football league in the United States. The league comprises 14 teams, divided equally between the Eastern Conference (EC) and Western Conference ...

(IFL).

Early life

O'Neal played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

Cypress Springs High School Cypress Springs High School, CSHS, or more commonly as Cy-Springs is located at 7909 Fry Road, in Cypress, Texas, Cypress, an Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community in Harris County, Texas. Cypress Springs High School was ...

Cypress, Texas Cypress is an unincorporated community in Harris County, Texas, United States, located completely inside the extraterritorial jurisdiction of the City of Houston. The Cypress area is located along U.S. Route 290 (Northwest Freeway) is twenty ...

. He recorded 78 tackles, five forced fumbles, and four pass breakups his senior year. He played in the

U.S. Army All-American Bowl The All-American Bowl (currently branded as the Navy All-American Bowl for sponsorship reasons) is a high school football all-star game, held annually at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Typically played in January, the All-American Bowl is p ...

College career

O'Neal played

for the

Texas A&M Aggies The Texas A&M Aggies are the students, graduates, and sports teams of Texas A&M University. The nickname "wikt:aggie#Etymology 2, Aggie" was once common at land-grant or "ag" (agriculture) schools in many states. The teams are also simply referr ...

from 2018 to 2021. He played in all 13 games his freshman year in 2018, totaling 14 tackles, one interception and one pass breakup. He appeared in all 13 games, starting 10, in 2019, accumulating 41 tackles, one interception, and three pass breakups. O'Neal started all 10 games during the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season, recording 48 tackles, two interceptions, and three pass breakups. He started all 12 games during his senior season in 2021, totaling a career-high 58 tackles, one sack, five pass breakups, one fumble recovery, and two interceptions, one of which was returned 85 yards for a touchdown. Overall, he recorded 161 tackles, one sack, six interceptions, 12 pass breakups, one fumble recovery, and one touchdown during his college career.

Professional career

After going undrafted in the

2022 NFL draft The 2022 NFL draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual NFL draft, draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada, Paradise next to Las Vegas. The first round ...

, O'Neal signed with the

on May 13, 2022. He was

waived/injured The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see '' Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

on August 10 and reverted to injured reserve the next day. He was waived from injured reserve on August 12, 2022. O'Neal was signed by the

of the

(CFL) on February 13, 2023. He was released in a round of camp cuts on June 4, 2023. After being released by the Roughriders, O'Neal played for the Massachusetts Pirates of the

(IFL). On July 2, 2023, he entered the crowd to confront a fan. He was suspended indefinitely by the IFL the next day. O'Neal signed with the

of the CFL on January 17, 2024. He dressed in 11 games, starting five, for the Elks in 2024, posting 35 defensive tackles and seven special teams tackles. He was released on September 23, 2024. In November 2024, O'Neal signed with the Massachusetts Pirates for the 2025 season. On January 28, 2025, O'Neal signed with the Houston Roughnecks of the United Football League (UFL). O'Neal was named to the 2025 All-UFL Team.

References

External links

Edmonton Elks bio
* {{DEFAULTSORT:ONeal, Leon Jr Living people 1998 births American football defensive backs Canadian football defensive backs Texas A&M Aggies football players San Francisco 49ers players Saskatchewan Roughriders players Massachusetts Pirates players Edmonton Elks players Players of Canadian football from Texas Players of American football from Cypress, Texas Houston Roughnecks players