After putting together a very strong spring that saw him earn plenty of praise from position coach Karl Dunbar, third-year Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman DeMarvin Leal has had a very strong training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe.
That continued Friday night in the preseason opener against the Houston Texans.
Leal recorded a sack in the Steelers’ 20-12 loss to the Texans, taking down quarterback Davis Mills for the 11-yard loss, generating a splash play for the defense.
Speaking to Steelers.com’s Missi Matthews after the game, Leal said his goal going into the game was to show the Steelers exactly what he could do and what is ahead for him this season.
“Shoot, we just getting better. Just wanted to show them exactly what I could do, prove to myself what this year’s going to be like and we just gonna build from here,” Leal said to Matthews, according to video via Steelers Live on Twitter.
Leal’s sack came in the second quarter as Houston drove down the field following the muffed punt by Steelers wide receiver Quez Watkins gave Houston the football on the Pittsburgh 30-yard line.
Leal’s sack came on the third play of the drive on a 1st and 10 from the Steelers’ 14-yard line, setting up a 2nd and 21 at the 25-yard line.
Three plays later though, the Texans were in the end zone as running back Dare Ogunbowale plunged in from 4 yards out for the touchdown and a 14-0 Houston lead.
The sack by the Texas A&M product was rather impressive though as he forced his way through the outside shoulder of the offensive tackle, getting through cleanly and then getting to Mills with force.
Leal’s flash on the play built off the strong camp he’s had. Quickly in Latrobe Leal was making a lot of plays, turning heads and building on the buzz he generated during OTAs and minicamp.
With Cameron Heyward sitting out of the preseason opener, Leal had an increase in snaps and played well, finishing with three tackles and a sack. It was a solid start to his preseason as he enters Year 3 aiming to carve out a larger role with the Steelers.
