![\"NFL](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/0CB68D0A15589E7D2D4AC67E9D2DCB52.jpg\")
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SAN LEANDRO, Calif. – Oakland native and San Leandro High alum Charles Leno Jr., who played in the NFL for a decade, was honored Friday night at the high school\u2019s homecoming game.<\/p>\n
Leno donated $450,000 towards a new professional-grade turf for his alma mater at Burrell Field.\u00a0<\/p>\n
It was part of a nearly $1 million renovation of the school\u2019s athletic facility.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Hometown pride\u00a0 <\/p>\n
The backstory:<\/p>\n
On Friday, Leno was beaming with pride when he saw the turf for the first time since its installation over the summer.<\/p>\n
“I absolutely love where I come from,” Leno said as he walked the new field. “San Leandro High has done so much for me.”<\/p>\n
The NFL player graduated from SLHS in 2009 and spent a decade playing pro, but never forgot his roots or his hometown team, the San Leandro Pirates.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s why he said he donated nearly half a million dollars towards a new bright blue turf, which serves as an ode to more than one of his alma maters.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“I wanted to do something that\u2019s long lasting, and what better way than leaving a blue turf on San Leandro High, when I went to Boise State, who also had blue turf,” Leno said with nostalgia.<\/p>\n
He laughed when asked whether it was his favorite color. “It should be, I\u2019m bought in!”<\/p>\n
The Oakland-born offensive player went on to play for the Chicago Bears and, most recently, the Washington Commanders.<\/p>\n
Over at the high school on Friday, students celebrated homecoming with a pep rally ahead of the game, where Leno would be honored.<\/p>\n
Inspiring youth <\/p>\n
Dig deeper:<\/p>\n
Leno\u2019s high school coach, Brad Bowers, who goes by Coach Boom, still trains the next generation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said Leno was a basketball player before he recruited him to play football.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“We\u2019re proud that he came from our community and he\u2019s still giving back to whatever community he touches,” he said.<\/p>\n
Coach Boom, who saw Leno\u2019s potential from the start, said his donations are nothing compared to the personal impact he\u2019s made on the players, even returning for a youth football camp in the summer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“He\u2019s come back several times and just talked to the team. He\u2019ll address the team about his experiences and what he\u2019s gone through, preparing them for the next level,” he said.<\/p>\n
Leno said he\u2019s only doing what was done for him.<\/p>\n
“Back in 2004 or 2005, when I first started playing football, Jarrad Page, who went to San Leandro High, came to talk to us, and I was on one knee looking at him, and he doesn\u2019t know that that inspired me,” he said. “I want to do the same for someone else that was in my shoes.”<\/p>\n
Nathaniel Brunson, a senior who plays as a wide receiver and quarterback, said he attended the youth summer camp when Leno spoke to players.<\/p>\n
“It\u2019s inspiring cause you never know, that could be you one day with people wearing your jerseys,” he said.<\/p>\n
New turf prevents injuries <\/p>\n
Big picture view:<\/p>\n
The team started the season with the new turf, and Brunson said he already feels the difference.<\/p>\n
He said he thinks the new turf will help prevent injuries.<\/p>\n
“Turf burns were really bad on the old field,” Brunson said.<\/p>\n
Leno added that fewer injuries could result in more pro-players.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not just the football program that will benefit, but also other athletics at the school like soccer and track and field.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“The kids love it,” Coach Boom said.<\/p>\n
At Friday night\u2019s ceremony, the school announced it would retire Leno\u2019s jersey, number 77, as a way to honor his legacy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Source: San Leandro Unified School District, KTVU reporting<\/p>\n
High School Sports<\/a>Good News<\/a>Local<\/a>Sports<\/a>San Leandro<\/a>Alameda County<\/a>NFL<\/a>Hometown Heroes<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SAN LEANDRO, Calif. – Oakland native and San Leandro High alum Charles Leno Jr., who played in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1170,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[389,1184,890,1811,1812,1810,1570,951,1814,100,752,143,145,144,1813,1530,425,127,1181],"class_list":{"0":"post-1169","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-oakland","8":"tag-alameda-county","9":"tag-ca","10":"tag-coronavirus","11":"tag-four","12":"tag-four-local","13":"tag-good-news","14":"tag-health","15":"tag-high-school","16":"tag-hometown-heroes","17":"tag-news","18":"tag-nfl","19":"tag-oakland","20":"tag-oakland-headlines","21":"tag-oakland-news","22":"tag-podcasts","23":"tag-san-leandro","24":"tag-series","25":"tag-sports","26":"tag-us"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1169","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1169"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1169\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1170"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1169"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1169"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1169"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}