Leon Strawder is leaving Miami Northwestern to play high school football at American Heritage in the middle of the season. He won a state championship with Teddy Bridgewater as head coach last season.
This surprising move is completely legal based on an open-ended rule in the state of Florida.
Strawder will be allowed to play high school football for his new team as early as next week. The Patriots are going to put him in the starting lineup right away.
Who is Leon Strawder?
Strawder hail from Miami. He is listed on the roster at 6-foot-1, 210 pounds.
Although his list of college offers is practically nonexistent, Strawder’s stock was expected to rise in 2025 after a strong year in 2024. The Class of 2026 quarterback he completed 168 passes for 2,677 yards and 41 touchdowns at Northwestern last season. The Bulls won a Class 3A state championship.
However, Leon Strawder was not named as the starting quarterback as a senior.
Northwestern basically forced Teddy Bridgewater out as head coach during the offseason. His replacement added sophomore signal-caller Neimann Lawrence as a transfer.
Lawrence and Strawder split time at quarterback during the first two games of 2025. Not anymore!
Florida high school football is a lawless land.
American Heritage High School entered the year with high hopes behind five-star quarterback and Texas commit Dia Bell. He might be out for the season.
There are conflicting reports on social media about Bell’s availability. It sounds like he is expected to miss some time due to injury but nothing has been confirmed to this point.
That leads us back to Leon Strawder.
If Bell is going to be sidelined, the Patriots need a quarterback. Enter Strawder.
He is leaving Miami Northwestern after the first two games of the season to play for American Heritage.
The move is completely legal based on the the FHSAA’s bylaws. A ‘Good Clause’ has existed for a few years now that essentially allows whichever school that accepts the transfer to determine whether it should be approved or denied. Of course, they are going to approve. It is an open-ended transfer portal.
And thus, Leon Strawder will likely start for the Patriots next weekend after winning a state championship with the Bulls last season and playing two regular season games this season. (Unless Bell is healthy!!)