UTSA senior center Nate Leonard is leaving his mark on the Alamo City, yet this time it’s not with a football but with his words.
It only took one question to get Leonard started on his love for writing.
“I love writing,” said Leonard, “I can write about anything and everything, but what gets me most is just being able to express myself and actually see the product first-hand.”
Leonard’s weekly blog, “Diary of a College Football Player”, can be read online at the Huffington Post, which details his life as a student athlete.
“They (Huffington) actually came to me,” stated Leonard. “Asked if I was interested in being a guest writer, and the whole thing just took off once I actually got comfortable.”
Although maintaining a weekly blog, attending school and preparing for the upcoming game seems overwhelming for most, Leonard admits that there have been times when he was able to express his thoughts in a more creative light.
“Weirdest thing I have ever written about? That’s a tough one,” joked Leonard. “When I was little I had an assignment in which I was to chronicle my travels as if I were a penny…yeah that was probably the weirdest one.”
“Actually, more recently, there was a time when readers asked me through my blog about certain things girls should wear.
Leonard, (a two-time first-team Capital One Academic All-District VII (2012-13) player), was ecstatic when approached by Sports Illustrated (SI) to write about the rising Roadrunners in San Antonio.
“Well, one of the SI writers had read my blog, and they came up to me after one of our games and asked if I was interested in writing a column for them,” said Leonard. “So of course, I said yes immediately!”
Leonard’s love for writing can be traced back to his younger years, when the center noted that he always wrote well, and it was an outlet for him growing up.
“Football has always been apart of my life, so I don’t really see it as a release,” said Leonard. “Putting thoughts, stress and expectations on paper is what really puts things in perspective.”
Leonard’s passion for football and writing go hand-in-hand, but there wasn’t ever a plan to go into journalism.
“Pursuing a career in writing was never the dream,” Leonard said. “I don’t write for the attention, but if an opportunity presented itself, I wouldn’t be opposed to accepting it.”
The McKinney High product is the only player to start all 38 games in program history, and is on the watch list for numerous awards, including the Dave Rimington Trophy awarded for the nation’s top center.
The Roadrunners suffered their fourth straight loss Saturday when they hosted the New Mexico Lobos, but Leonard assured fans that this is just a bump in the road, and that they will be back on track when they take on the visiting Florida International Panthers (3-3, C-USA (2-0) Oct. 11, in its annual homecoming game.
