SAN ANTONIO — Senior center Nate Leonard is back again this season with a blog that will give fans an inside glimpse into UTSA Football.
The Roadrunners fell at Oklahoma State by a score of 43-13 last Saturday in Stillwater, Okla., and they enter their first bye week of the season at 1-2.
A leader on and off the field, the McKinney native was instrumental in the team's success last fall, as UTSA won its last five games en route to a 7-5 overall record and 6-2 mark in its first campaign as a member of Conference USA.
The 6-foot, 280-pounder was a member of the preseason Dave Rimington Trophy watch list (nation’s top center) and he earned preseason second-team All-Conference USA accolades from Athlon Sports. The only player to start all 37 games in program history was a 2013 second-team Capital One Academic All-American in addition to being named the 2013-14 Conference USA Scholar-Athlete of the Year for football.
Leonard is coming off a junior season that saw him record a team-leading 70 knockdown blocks and he also graded out at 82 percent. He was a key part of an offensive line that did not commit a holding penalty during the season while helping the offense average 25.6 points, 417.8 total yards (175.4 rush/242.4 pass), 21.9 first downs and 32:24 possession time per contest.
Below is his fourth entry of the fall.
Week 4: Look Around
I always have had an intense focus. No matter the task, the setting or the outcome, I have set my aim and maintained my tunnel vision.
My parents always would get upset after games because the parents of other players would compliment my play and I would just stroll on by without a simple nod, look or "thank you."
My focus imprisons me. If I accomplish the object of my focus, then I immediately raise the bar and reset my goal. If I fail at the object of my focus, then I obsess as to the reason of my shortcoming. It is quite exhausting, yet critical for success and growth.
Many times, I have failed. Many times, I have succeeded. However, I ALWAYS have grown.
Although it is rare, I do have times at which my mind rests, my tunnel vision clears and I find myself free. It allows me to look around. I'll unlock my stiff neck, look up at the sky and get dizzy as the clouds move across the vast blue abyss. I'll put on a song, fall back on my pillow and get lost in absurd vocals and air-guitar mastery. I'll hear a bird chirping, find it among the camouflage and toss a pebble as to expose the bird and allow it to fly.
Sometimes, it takes being exposed in order to find a reason to fly. It's safe to say that Oklahoma State cast many pebbles on Saturday night.
I really thought that we would give them more of a fight. However, Oklahoma State is an excellent program filled with excellent players and led by excellent coaches. Their team and fans won with class and there is a lot to be said for that. I wish them all the best in the Big 12 and believe they will leave their conference with the hardware.
So will we.
In order to do so, however, we need to get healthy, so this bye week couldn't come at a better time. We've missed some key players due to injury, and none more key, perhaps, than senior defensive tackle Richard Burge.
I can't say that I am often fond of defensive linemen. In every aspect, they are intended to be the foils of the offensive line. They study us and capitalize on our weaknesses. They intend to embarrass and harass us in front of our family and friends. They bask in the glory of brutal sacks landed on our quarterback and pad their stats with tackles made behind our backs. They are dogs while we are hogs, but, at the end of the day, we are teammates. Our defensive line is one of the best in the country, and Richard Burge is a leader among them and a pivotal member of the "Original 18."
Richard is a good teammate and a better man. Here is what UTSA Football means to him.
"Like many of the first-year guys, I wasn't presented with many options to play college football. I wasn't really even sure that I wanted to play at the next level, but when Coach Coker presented me with a scholarship, I somehow knew that UTSA Football was going to be my home. I truly believe that our program is the only place in the nation, on any level, that could allow me to develop in every way. My teammates and friends I have made in the past five years truly make me who I am today. I owe everything to them. I could not wish for a better life than the one that I have been blessed with these past few years. Thank you to everybody who has touched my life."
Richard highlights an excellent point: Growth. Growth is at the center of UTSA Football. Growth of players. Growth of coaches. Growth of administration. Growth of fans. Oh, fans, how y'all have grown!
It was Sept. 3, 2011, and I couldn't hear a thing. It was so loud in the Alamodome that my eyes were moving up, down and all around like wheels in a slot machine. Along with all the buzz and excitement of the first game in UTSA Football history, I was trying to hear the snap count from then quarterback Eric Soza so that we could help execute the offense.
Usually, when the home team is on offense, the crowd makes an effort to stay quiet to help out the team. However, our fledgling crowd was way too excited to stay quiet and I didn't blame them one bit, but it did make things quite interesting.
I want you to slowly wave your hand by your ear. Each time you do so, imagine a snap count. For example, the first time you pass your ear, that translates as "Down!" The second wave would be "Set!" and the third, "Hut!" That's what the snap count amounted to the entire game against Northeastern Oklahoma State. Needless to say, I just hoped everyone was set, said a prayer and snapped the football.
We have come a long way.
Fan noise can come in all different shapes and sizes and, unfortunately, the negative fan noise muddies the positive fan noise. Yes, we are 1-2 when we had planned to be 3-0, but now is not the time to lose faith and question. Now is the time to step up, hold your birds high and rally around your team.
It's easy to be a fan when things are going well, but a true fan stands tall when things aren't. I know many of you who read my blogs are true fans and I thank you. If you are one who questions, then I ask that you look around. Look around at what we have built and how far we have come, reset your focus and have some faith.
We, as a program, are being challenged. As a team, we have a losing record, but a winning outlook. Fans, as a player, I am casting a pebble. I am casting a pebble from my glass house. Don't be comfortable chirping from your camouflage. If we fail, let's fail together. When we succeed, let's succeed together. And, as we grow, let's take flight and grow together.