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 (3-8, 2-5 C-USA) will close out their fourth season on play on Saturday when they host North Texas (4-7, 2-5 C-USA) at 11 a.m.
Through the first 11 games of the year, the 6-foot, 280-pounder is second among the squad’s offensive linemen with 39 knockdown blocks while grading out at 79 percent.
Leonard, who was named a National Football Foundation Scholar-Athlete on Oct. 30, 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 45 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 13th entry of the fall.
Week 13: One More Time
I was hugging the toilet bowl in the master bathroom. My clammy hands were sliding down the cold porcelain as I was trying to get a grip on the throne and, more importantly, a grip on the situation. I barely had the strength to lift my wrist to wipe my mouth. My knees ached as I tried to find a position of comfort on the slick tile. If I wasn't passed out on the seat, I was exercising the demons into the toilet water below.
Why me?
I had no answers and no time to think. My stomach was turning inside out and my mind was anywhere but Earth.
In the midst of my internal struggle, I was doing everything I could to pull myself together. The first round of the playoffs were tomorrow. My senior year playoffs. Perhaps my last game.
Why now?
I hardly ever got sick (knock on wood). The last time I had been this sick was when I overindulged at a questionable sushi buffet my freshman year. A mistake that would never be made again as the joint had since been condemned.
My poor dad was scrambling around town trying to find an open restaurant for some warm soup, while hitting every convenience store along the way for fluids to replace what I had "lost." His endeavors ended in vain, however, as everything he had purchased wound up in the water of my makeshift bed.
Somewhere between the numbness in my knees and hallucination that I was Jack Black, I had fallen into a deep slumber. When I woke up, I had my head propped against the bathtub and the bath rug draped across my lap as a blanket. My eyes hardly could open, but, when they did, I saw the upside-down image of my father standing over me. He flipped on the shower and said, "Rise and shine, buddy. It's game day!"
I had survived.
The fourth quarter was coming to a close. The scoreboard had become lopsided after going into half with a touchdown lead. My high school career was slipping away one second at a time.
As I tried to encourage my offense and team to remain positive, my words died at the tip of my tongue. It was a hard truth to realize that my dream of playing varsity football was going to end that night and I was powerless to stop it.
When the horn sounded, the emotion poured out and I left the field in the embrace of my fellow seniors.
A horn will sound this upcoming Saturday and I plan to leave the field the same way — with the seniors I came in with.
The members of the "Original 18."
Kam Jones is a pivotal member of the "Original 18." As a true playmaker, I always am excited when the football is in his possession. He has been so exciting to watch and play alongside for my five years here at UTSA and I'll never forget when Kam returned the first ever kickoff in UTSA history. When he hit the boundary, the Alamodome erupted. The Dome hasn't been that loud since.
Kam is a good teammate and a better man. Here is what UTSA Football means to him.
"UTSA Football means everything to me. My five years here have been fun. It's just crazy that we came here with nothing and, once the game ends Saturday, we will finally be able to see what we established and watch how UTSA blows up in the coming years. It's unfortunate that we couldn't get to a bowl game this year, but I can say we gave it our all and left a legacy."
Nate Shaw is someone who doesn't get his name called as much as Kam, but he has been such a crucial piece of our offense since the very first year. The bottom line is that Nate is an unbelievably hard worker. He has earned absolutely everything he has received here at UTSA and is undoubtedly one of the most reliable players we have on the team. When his number is called, it's a sure thing that he will get the job done. Oh, and he has a great first name.
Nate is a good teammate and a better man. Here is what UTSA Football means to him.
"UTSA Football has been the ultimate blessing. The program allowed me to continue a football career at the highest collegiate level when I thought my playing days were finished after high school. I am extremely fortunate to be walking away with incredible memories, both on and off the field. The relationships that I've established in my five years in this program will be taken with me going forward and will be forever cherished. I am optimistic about the program's future and I cannot wait to see the growth that is ahead for the Roadrunners."
When that final horn sounded on that cold November day, I realized that my high school football career had ended, but I knew that I had five more years of football as a UTSA Roadrunner.
When that horn sounds this Saturday, however, there are no more games for me. My playing career will be over.
So, I have only one more.
One more time to dress in the blue and orange. One more time to run out of the tunnel. One more time to bust some heads, break some hearts and make some memories.
One more time.
Previous entries
· Nov. 17
· Nov. 10
· Oct. 27
· Oct. 20
· Oct. 13
· Oct. 6
· Sept. 29
· Sept. 22
· Sept. 15
· Sept. 8
· Aug. 31
· Aug. 25