by Chris Herbert, goUTSA.com contributing writeris a prime example of how a collegiate football player should approach the game.Even though he only has career totals of six receptions for 62 yards heading into tonight's game against North Texas, Stevens has appeared in 40 games since sitting out as a redshirt back in 2012. He drew his first starting assignment against Rice a year ago and has remained the team's starting blocking tight end since that time.The senior tight end from Friendswood also has embraced his role as a blocker."The games are a big fuel for me," Stevens said. "It's about taking someone where they don't want to go. It gives me a lot of self-satisfaction and it's also known that you are part of a bigger scheme. You know that if you make this certain blocking play, it can propel the team to great success."Stevens primarily was used as a special teamer his first two years as a Roadrunner. Now as a graduate student, Stevens not only sees himself as a success story but also as one of the team's leaders. Other seniors like safetyand running backmay get most of the media attention, but Stevens also is seen in the same light among his peers."I think we all have our positions on the team," he said. "Those two may be more of a media face, but I feel I'm a leader based on what I do every day behind closed doors. While I'm more of a leader by example, I occasionally feel the need to say something."Stevens also has shown that he was a player to depend upon even before coming to the Alamo City.During his high school days in Friendswood, he caught 20 passes for 187 yards and five touchdowns during his three-year prep career, while earning second-team All-District 24-4A honors his final two seasons.As a junior, the former Mustang had his most successful year after hauling in 13 receptions, four of which resulted in touchdowns. Stevens also played a big role as Friendswood posted a 13-2 record and reached the UIL Class 4A Division I semifinals that season.Stevens says he still plays with the same mentality that he had back then."I have about the same mentality, although the game has much more preparation in college than it did in high school," he said. "It's a different environment and there are different guys to play with, so it was a big change, but I think the approach is the same."Although playing the game for the majority of his life, Stevens has thought about his life after football.He currently is a graduate student pursuing a master of business administration. He already received his bachelor's degree in May of this year."I plan on looking for a part time job or an internship in the spring," Stevens said. "I'll still be taking grad school classes and I'll be looking forward to receiving my MBA when I graduate December 2017. Wherever that takes me, I'd like to stay in Texas. If not, I'll move somewhere else that fits me. I've also thought about participating at our Pro Day."Even though his football career may be coming to an end, he believes that he and his teammates are pioneers for the program, which is in its sixth season this fall."It seems like a not-so-distant past that we were practicing at Dub Farris and I definitely will look back 10 to 20 years from now and see how far the program has gone," Stevens said. "I definitely feel like myself and the guys that came before me will feel like they are the ones that started this program. We built the foundation for the program. I'm sure it'll change drastically, but I'll think there will be traces of what we did in the beginning."led UTSA for its first five seasons, but Stevens' final campaign has come under the direction of, who was hired as the program's second head coach back in January.The Roadrunners have won two of their last three contests with wins against Southern Miss and Rice after starting the year 1-3 and they currently sit third in Conference USA's West Division with a 2-2 mark after being picked to finish fifth in the preseason polls.Stevens' expectations for the rest of the season are for the winning ways to continue."I expect us to maintain our energy and focus and I don't think anyone was discouraged after the first four games," he said. "My expectation all along was for us to turn it around and I knew if we could do that, we could compete for the conference championship and a bowl game at the end of the season."While the Roadrunners had a slow start to the season, the team remained optimistic they would turn their efforts around and they have.A victory against North Texas tonight would put the program one step closer to contending for its first-ever conference championship and earning an invitation to a bowl game, which would be another first in its history.While it is still uncertain where the Roadrunners will finish this season, the team will continue to benefit from a continuing combination of hard work, determination and leadership from players like, both on and off the field.