View Photos of Donnell Leomiti

Donnell Leomiti is entering his sixth season as CSU-Pueblo’s defensive backs coach and recruiting coordinator.

Leomiti has coached up an incredibly efficient defensive backfield in his first five seasons with the Pack, coaching three All-Americans (Mark Sterling and Stephan Dickens in 2011 and C.J. Roberts in 2012), and four All-Region selections (Roberts, Sterling, Dickens, and Grant Crunkleton in 2010) and a total of 13 All-RMAC selections in five seasons.

A ball-hawk secondary has been a hallmark of the CSU-Pueblo defense under Leomiti, as the Pack defense has been ranked in the top 15 nationally in interceptions in each of the past four seasons, including three straight top ten finishes from 2009-11.  In 2011, Leomiti’s defensive backfield was the best in the nation, ranking first in interceptions and turnover ratio as the CSU-Pueblo defense held opponents to the third-lowest points per game figure in the country.  In 2010, CSU-Pueblo ranked third in total picks.

Prior to arriving at CSU-Pueblo, Leomiti had been the defensive technical intern at CU in 2005 and 2006. At CU, his responsibilities included working with the secondary as well as on-campus recruiting.

Leomiti arrived at CU after serving as a high school assistant coach from 1999-2004. He spent 1999 and 2000 at Denver North High School, and then followed that up with a four-year stint as linebackers coach at Boulder High School.

As a CU player, Leomiti was a member of many great teams in the mid-1990s. Starting out as a receiver at CU, he saw action in 11 games, including the Fiesta Bowl, as a true freshman in 1992. He moved to safety the following year, starting at strong safety as a junior and senior. He had 159 career tackles, including 98 as a senior (the third most on the team), along with three interceptions, three fumble recoveries and seven pass deflections. Two of his biggest plays came his junior year (1994): he returned an interception for a touchdown at Missouri and had a key fumble recovery in the fourth quarter at Michigan, a big play in the game now referred to as both "The Miracle in Michigan" and "The Catch."

Born in Santa Ana, Calif., he graduated from Leone High School in Pavaiai, American Samoa, in 1992 where he lettered in football, basketball and baseball. He was a two-time Ashaa League most valuable player on offense, earning the honor his junior and senior years. He is married to former CSU-Pueblo All-American cross country athlete, Lauren Dunsmoor. The couple has four children: Donnell Jr., Siliaga, Malekai and Kai'ani.