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 (1-4, 0-1 C-USA) will look to get back on the winning track on Saturday when they continue Conference USA play with their annual Homecoming contest against FIU (3-3, 2-0 C-USA). Kick off at the Alamodome is scheduled for 6 p.m. in what will be the first-ever meeting between the two programs.
Through the first five games of the year, the 6-foot, 280-pounder is second among the squad’s offensive linemen with 23 knockdown blocks while grading out at 77 percent.
A leader on and off the field, the McKinney native was instrumental in the team's success last fall, as the Roadrunners won their last five games en route to a 7-5 overall record and 6-2 mark in league play.
Leonard, a Senior CLASS Award candidate and National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete nominee, also was a member of the preseason Dave Rimington Trophy watch list (nation’s top center) and he earned preseason second-team all-conference accolades from Athlon Sports. The only player to start all 39 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.
He is coming off a junior season that saw him record a team-leading 70 pancakes 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 seventh entry of the fall.
Week 7: Another Crossroads
I was at the crossroads of Loop 1604 and IH-10.
The cool breeze was flowing from right to left, tussling with my thin hair and rustling the pant legs of my travel suit. Sitting in a metal chair too narrow for my hips, I had my feet kicked up on the balcony ledge, sipping an ice-cold Gatorade and watching headlights choose which path they wanted to take.
As the wind gave my ears a break, I could faintly hear my dad and grandfather discussing the action and outcomes of the day's games. I heard them chuckle as ESPN showed the highlights of Mississippi State putting the beat down on the Aggies of Texas A&M and found myself laughing as the two University of Texas grads reminded themselves of the score every few minutes.
Their jovial bellows reminded me of dinner, where I was surrounded by smiles and beautiful people. To my left and decorating my arm and shoulder was my stunning fiancée, accompanied by my in-laws, grandfather and dad to round out the table. We sat and ate deliciously greasy cheeseburgers as I threw straw wrappers at shirt pockets and stole kisses between bites. We drew eyes from strangers as we cackled and hollered at off-putting jokes and jabs, alike.
I felt the arms of the metal chair, again, as my dad appeared from the bright light of the hotel room. As he leaned on the balcony ledge with his right foot crossed over his left, he took a deep breath and said, "Whatchu thinking about, buddy?"
I smiled. I was thinking about how I looked out over that exact view more than five years ago. The breeze was just as nice and the Gatorade was just as cold. How my hair was just a tad thicker and my hips a bit comfier. How the headlights all looked the same as they chose their respective paths. I was reminded of an incredible dinner my dad and I had shared. How the thick-cut bacon gently hugged the sweet scallops. How they rested upon a delicious bed of corn and peppers. How that day five years ago was the reason I was perched on that same balcony today.
Dad and I were sitting in Coach Coker's office, side by side. Coach was showing us pictures and pamphlets of what was to be UTSA Football. My left leg was bouncing up and down in an excited fashion and I could feel the same excitement from my dad, just with a little less leg bounce. Dad and I could feel the conversation with Coach leading to something. We both were praying that it was leading to the something we had talked about for the majority of my years.
When that "something moment" finally reared its head, dad and I were ready. Coach told me that if UTSA was the place I wanted to be, all I needed to do was pick up the phone and give him a call.
My leg stopped bouncing and I think my dad stopped breathing. I wanted to make sure that I had properly interpreted what I was just told. I clarified that if I made the decision to play at UTSA, all I had to do was call? Coach nodded his head, stuck out his hand and said, "I won't renege on you, Nate. You have an offer to play football at UTSA."
In that moment, I was at a crossroads in my own life.
I called my high school position coach, Mark Gibson, and then my high school head coach, Bobby Reyes. I wanted to make sure they were okay with me committing to UTSA. They had such a pivotal role in my high school career and the successes I had experienced, that a phone call was the least I could do. Through tears and talking smiles, I got the go-ahead, made another call and took Coker up on his offer.
That was more than five years ago, but I can still picture it as if I had just hung up the phone.
There are only 18 of us remaining from that first signing class. Eighteen different guys with 18 different stories, but who each chose the same path at the crossroads. Tight end Cole Hubble is one of those guys and I am honored that we share the same line of scrimmage.
Cole is a good teammate and a better man. Here is what UTSA Football means to him.
"UTSA football isn't just a team to me. It's more like a family. I've made life-long brothers here that have changed me for the better. This team and university will forever have a special place in my heart. As my college career winds down, I take a step back and reflect on the memories. From our freshman year where the 'Original 18' bonded over the gruesome practices knowing that we didn't have any games to showcase our sharpened skills, until now, in our last season as Roadrunners, we finally have a chance to capture a bowl berth and end our journey with a bang. There's nothing that can replace the experience my teammates and I have endured here. This team and program have created opportunities I could never have received anywhere else and built a brotherhood that is unbreakable."
As we did roughly five years ago, the members of the "Original 18" stand at yet another crossroads.
We are no strangers to adversity and do not fear it. Just as we have done since the day we got here, we grit our teeth, tighten our laces and blaze the path that few are willing to travel.
Previous entries
· Sept. 29
· Sept. 22
· Sept. 15
· Sept. 8
· Aug. 31
· Aug. 25