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 (2-5, 1-2 C-USA) will return home this Saturday to host intrastate rival UTEP.
Through the first seven games of the year, the 6-foot, 280-pounder is second among the squad’s offensive linemen with 29 knockdown blocks while grading out at 77 percent.
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 41 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.
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.
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 ninth entry of the fall.
Week 9: Truth
As I sit here, I find that my teammates and I are at the exact same spot that we were a year ago. We are 2-5.
Nothing can change that and what is done is done. In this moment, we have no control over what has happened so far this season, but what we do have control over is our attitude and resolve moving forward.
Last year, when we found ourselves with a 2-5 record, we were heading into UAB week. I remember the dismal fog that surrounded the program and the pit in my stomach. The fog has come creeping back and the pit weighs heavily.
However, that didn't have any impact on the way we prepared each week last year and I guarantee that it won't have any impact on the way we prepare this year. We prepare each and every week to dominate our opponent and play at the highest level.
If anything, we are a team that plays its best when our backs are against the wall. We are most dangerous when we are cornered.
If you don't believe me, then brush away the fog and look back at the last two seasons.
I'm not saying that the past holds precedent and I understand that there have been some personnel and coaching changes within the past two years, but, as a program, we have shown to finish strong.
In 2012, we had a four-game losing streak in the middle of the season and finished with three key victories to end the year with an impressive 8-4 record. Sure, we didn't play all Football Bowl Subdivision teams, but 10 out of the 12 teams that we played were. When things weren't going our way during the losing streak, we stuck together, knew our worth and continued to prepare the way that we always do. We finished strong.
In 2013, we had a three-game losing streak in the middle of the season and started out very much the same way as we have this year. As I stated earlier, we were 2-5 last year at this time during the season and, just as we did in 2012, when things weren't going our way, we stuck together, knew our worth and continued to prepare the way that we always do.
We finished the season with a five-game winning streak. We beat UAB, marched into Tulsa and defeated the defending Conference USA Champion, stunned Tulane by three points, upset North Texas in Denton and then returned home for an "Orange Out" revenge victory against Louisiana Tech. Again, we finished strong.
I know that the feeling is not good right now. Losing hurts and I'm not saying that I'm not concerned or frustrated, because I am.
We have 36 seniors on this team who don't want to end their careers on a bad note and muddy the legacy that we have built. However, we also know that we have been in this situation before and that we pulled ourselves out of a hole together.
I know the exact moment that our season turned the corner last year. It was in the offensive meeting room at the Grand Hyatt the night before the UAB game. I wrote about it last year and it still holds true today.
What happened in that meeting room was one of the most special and candid moments of my football career. I said that I wouldn't share what happened in that meeting room with anyone who wasn't there and I still won't. The only people who deserve to know what happened in that meeting room were the ones in attendance. I hope we have a similar meeting this Friday night.
It is well documented that I have faced adversity in my life. I have opened up and shared my story many times throughout my blogs. You have read about adversity with my family, my career and my teammates. I always have found that adversity filters out the posers in my life and I'm sure you can relate with what I am saying because I know that you have faced adversity, as well.
There are many people who want to be a part of your life when things go well for you. Family members, friends and fans always flock to you in your times of utmost triumph. They want a piece of the light, a taste of the glory and to stand with you upon your solid foundation.
However, what happens when that light starts to dim, the glory begins to fade and the foundation begins to shake?
The ones who leave or question are posers and the ones who toe the line with you are true family members, true friends and true fans.
Thanks to all of you who have been true.
I'm sure that Sean Ianno can relate to what I am saying. As a place-kicker, he always is under the microscope when the game is on the line.
Sean Ianno is a good teammate and a better man. Here is what UTSA Football means to him.
"Playing for UTSA has been a big opportunity for me. I only played football my senior year of high school, so I was not highly-recruited, but even after hating the idea of playing football for the first 17 years of my life, I knew that college football was what I wanted to do. The dream came true after the first tryouts in UTSA history in the fall of 2010 and the dream got even sweeter when I was rewarded with a scholarship after the inaugural 2011 season. Soon, I hope to have the opportunity to play in the NFL and I will owe UTSA a big thank you for that. I will do my best to not waste the opportunity of a lifetime."
So, I ask you to think about the true people in your life.
Who toed the line with you and who ran?
Hold close those people who were there for you in your times of struggle because finding truth in darkness is hard to do.
Previous entries
· Oct. 13
· Oct. 6
· Sept. 29
· Sept. 22
· Sept. 15
· Sept. 8
· Aug. 31
· Aug. 25