" .... “That new redshirt rule that the AFCA, Todd Berry, and all of us coaches are hoping to get into effect, I wish that were in effect last year,” Herman said last week. “We would have played him the last few games. It was more prudent to redshirt him. Had a great bowl prep, then the two months with Coach McKnight did wonders for him.”
Going through an offseason in Austin for the first time has helped Leitao, who is now up to 245 pounds on his 6’3 frame.
“He’s strong as an ox, super smart,” Herman said. “The guy is majoring in neuroscience. I didn’t even know that was a major. Extremely smart. Loves football. You can tell he’s a coach’s kid. Goes hard when he screws up. It kills him. We’re excited about him.”
The excitement also stems from the fact that Leitao was the right mentality to excel as an in-line blocker, but also possesses the athleticism to threaten opponents as a receiver — he caught 34 passes for 423 yards and four touchdowns as a senior. During bowl prep, offensive coordinator Tim Beck expressed his satisfaction in seeing Leitao develop that area of his game.
“He runs well and he really catches the ball well,” Beck said. “I thought he was more of a guy that would just slobberknock you down inside there, but he can move pretty good.”
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The tight end position features heavily in the pro-spread offense run by Herman and while he doesn’t have players with ideal height for his scheme, he is satisfied with where the position is this spring.
“We don’t have like what we had at Ohio State withJeff Heuermanand Nick Vannett,” Herman said. “We don’t have 6’6, 260 that can put his hand in the dirt and go block an elite 7-technique. What we do have are guys that are athletic, that can move, that do have leverage. They aren’t short by any stretch. By tight end standards, 6’2, 6’3 is not extremely tall. They can move around. They can play in the slot. They can run routes. They can catch the ball. The offense is pretty wide open.” ...."