Cortez Leonard did a lot of soul-searching.

Leonard, a senior football player at Callaway High, had a number of options when it came to choosing a college.

It was, he said a “stressful” process.

“Some nights, I couldn’t even sleep thinking about what school I was going to,” Leonard said.

In the end, Leonard decided that the best option for him was Butler Community College in Kansas.

On Wednesday, Leonard made it official when he signed his letter of intent to play football for the junior-college powerhouse.

“I chose Butler because I feel that Butler has all the tools to get me where I need to be in life, to be successful at the next level also,” said Leonard, who wants to play for a four-year school down the road.

He’ll be joined there by two of his former teammates at Troup High, Malcolm Tatum and Ricky Frazier.

Leonard played at Troup before transferring to Callaway for his senior season.

“It’s going to be great, being around a bunch of guys I played with at Troup,” Leonard said. “I’ve been around them my entire football career.”

Leonard made a major impact in his lone season at Callaway.

He was a hard-hitting free safety who anchored the Callaway defense, and he was also a big-play threat on offense as a running back.

“It was great,” Leonard said of his season at Callaway. “I’m friends with everybody. Out there on the football field, we’re all friends. We bonded together good out there on the football field.”

Callaway head coach Pete Wiggins believes Butler will be an ideal fit for Leonard.

“Butler is one of the top junior colleges in the country,” Wiggins said. “So, it’s going to be a great place for him to go, and then further on down the road he’ll have an opportunity to play on an even bigger stage somewhere else.”