Nakevion Leslie spent his 2015 summer “down time” learning a couple of things.
Some of it was mandatory, like a position change from outside linebacker to middle linebacker for the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football team. The other was optional but informative, as a job working at Finley Stadium gave him some knowledge about the Chattanooga Football Club soccer team, which played home games there.
“I learned a lot about soccer this summer,” Leslie said Tuesday. “I learned about PKs, the rules, those kinds of things, just by watching the game, standing there watching CFC. I didn’t know a lot before; I just thought it was a lot of kicking the ball and running down the field.”
Of course, the football field is where he’s at home. Playing the “Sam” (strongside outside) linebacker position for the Mocs the past two seasons, the 5-foot-11, 220-pounder started all 14 games in 2014 and finished with 82 tackles and 11.5 for lost yardage, with two sacks. He earned second-team All-Southern Conference honors and is a preseason first-team selection this year.
He’s moved into the “Mike” (middle) linebacker position vacated by the graduated Muhasibi Wakeel but said Tuesday that he feels much more comfortable going into this season.
And despite only a total of 24 practices – 15 in the spring and nine so far in the summer – playing the middle position, he seems to be picking it up pretty well. The same could also be said for senior A.J. Hampton, who after playing a lot and waiting his chance, will move into Leslie’s vacant spot.
“Nakevion has done great. He’s done a great job,” UTC coach Russ Huesman said. “I’m very proud of him. He’s an excellent football player and has a lot of football smarts about him. He’s a bright young man, and that’s what we need in there.”
Leslie said the biggest change is that he’s now in charge of everything on the field, from making the play calls to making sure everybody is lined up where they need to be.
“Last year I didn’t really know what to do, and I played slow because I was thinking and overthinking,” he said. “I let Mu (Wakeel) do all the talking and guiding of the defense, and I just listened to whatever he said. This year I’m that guy now, so I have to know what to do – know every situation and have to get the defense read. It’s on me, it’s my responsibility now, but having experience last year from watching Mu will help me coming into this year.
“I think we have a chance to be even better this year because all of our guys played a lot last year. We have great chemistry and experience because we won together and lost together, so we know what it takes and that will make us much better.”
Linebackers coach Rusty Wright said Leslie’s transition has been a good one and that if he keeps working, he’ll be “a really good player in our league.
“We have to remind ourselves all the time that he hadn’t been in there for a year playing Mike. He’s played Sam for us, but it’s a little different when you slide over,” Wright said. “He’s progressing like he needs to, and if he continues to and plays with good effort and does those things, he’ll be a good player.
“I tell him all the time to make sure he doesn’t let being good stand in the way of being great, and that’s a huge deal for him now.”
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him at twitter.com/genehenleytfp.