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 (2-4, 1-1 C-USA) snapped their four-game losing streak with a come-from-behind 16-13 Homecoming victory this past Saturday against FIU.
Through the first six games of the year, the 6-foot, 280-pounder is second among the squad’s offensive linemen with 27 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 40 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 eighth entry of the fall.
Week 8: A Silent Thank You
It was a crisp February morning in North Texas. Outside, the only noise to be heard was the wind whine as it pushed through the bare tree branches. Inside, it was even quieter.
The McKinney High School football meeting room was packed with children and adults, alike, and they were as still as the frosted blades of grass that lined the practice fields merely a few feet away. All eyes were on me and, as Coach Reyes stepped away from his flattering introduction, I stood as still as the crowd before me.
I took a moment to soak it all in because I had been waiting for this day long before I ever strapped on the pads.
My eyes had seen quite a bit in this room.
When I was in elementary school, I attended the McKinney Lions football camps in the summer and this room was our haven from the heat. Sweaty and smelly, we sat and watched highlight tapes of the latest season. Recognizing our favorite Lions greats, we whispered their names in awe, as they would make bone-crushing tackles and tremendously athletic touchdowns.
As a Lion, I met for many hours in this room. Coach Gibson, my high school offensive line coach, took the depth chart of the opposing team and marked its defensive front with an Expo marker on the whiteboard. Every week, he circled their best players and schemed with us until the marker ink ran low.
As a Lion, I watched many hours of practice and game film in this room. I watched Coach Gibson's laser pointer move across the screen and land where our steps or helmet placement should have been on a certain play. We found comedic relief in the fact that Coach Gibson would rewind a particularly embarrassing play, put it on slow motion, rewind it again, put it on slow motion … well, you get the point.
As a Lion, I took many a knee in our pregame warm-up gear just before we took the bus to the stadium. I listened with flawless intent to a pregame speech that got the blood flowing and fists clenching.
However, on this day, I stood in the meeting room as a Roadrunner. It was National Signing Day and before I was to carry out the ceremonial inking of the paper, I was asked to say a few words.
I looked out to the crowd and saw the faces of many people who guided me to the position that I stood in that moment.
At the front of the crowd, all on a knee, was the football team that I had gone to battle with so many times. So many stories we shared with the everlasting bond of blood, sweat and tears.
Immediately behind them stood their families. Little brothers and sisters who someday would wear the blue and gold and stand where I was standing.
Behind me were my coaches, who were a great group of honorable men who constantly kept the flame of my dream alive by restlessly teaching me life skills and football techniques.
To my right stood my dad and grandfather who always knew I could stand exactly where I was standing and were pivotal in making sure I did.
There were a lot of things that I wanted to say. I wanted to point out each person in the room and take the time to reflect on our individual relationship, but for the sake of time and sanity, I said something that applied to each and every person in attendance.
"I wouldn't be here today without your unyielding love and support. Thank you all for having such a profound impact on my life."
As I charged the field with my teammates this past Saturday after a gritty 16-13 victory against the Panthers of Florida International University, I still thought of those people who stood in that meeting room with me that chilly day in February, and, silently, I thanked them.
I thought of my support system here in San Antonio and silently thanked them for cultivating my collegiate life and career. I also found myself wondering about all the people who stood behind my fellow teammates in their time of growth and accomplishment, and, silently, I thanked them, as well.
Everyone who has ever done something worth remembering has done it by remembering those who were worth doing it for.
It was a great feeling to tally another win for this program in my senior year. We are a senior-laden team and want to leave here on a high note.
I know wide receiver Earon Holmes feels the same way. Earon is a good teammate and a better man. Here is what UTSA Football means to him.
"UTSA Football is everything to me because football is everything to me. Coming out of high school, I had a lot of offers pulled because I was injured in the third game of my senior season. UTSA stuck with me, even though other teams forgot about me. Since becoming one of the first recruits here at UTSA, I just felt obligated to giving my all and being loyal to this program. UTSA gave me an opportunity that others wouldn't and, because of that, I am forever thankful."
As we continue to narrow our focus, we attack this week with only one thing in mind: tallying another win. Tallying it for the team. Tallying it for each other. Tallying it for all those people we silently thank.
Previous entries
· Oct. 6
· Sept. 29
· Sept. 22
· Sept. 15
· Sept. 8
· Aug. 31
· Aug. 25