Arizona Cardinals linebacker Eku Leota entered camp as the kind of player who can get lost in the shuffle. He left it as one of the team’s most noticeable preseason surprises.
Leota, who signed with Arizona’s practice squad last December, kept stacking plays through practice and games until the Cardinals couldn’t ignore him. That kind of rise came with a heavy dose of appreciation on his end.
"Man, a lot of just feeling grateful, and that hard work really does pay off at the end of the day. Just to have the right people here in my corner: teammates, coaches pushing me every day. I know it's a competition, but the person I was competing with the most was myself every day, and that's how I looked at it throughout the whole training camp," said Leota.
"It's just me being better every day and peaking at the right time, which is right now."
That push helped him beat out former second-round pick BJ Ojulari in the outside linebackers room, a decision that stood out when Arizona finalized its roster. Leota did not just hang around; he earned his place.
Part of that climb came from experience. Leota said this is already his fourth team, and the different systems he has absorbed along the way helped him find a fit in Arizona.
"This is my fourth team. I've been in four different schemes, and just being able to take everything that I learned from other teams, but trying to put it in the right areas within this game," said Leota.
"I feel like they let me play free from a schematic standpoint here, and being able to play within the scheme, but with my skill set as well. So, Just being able to get off the ball, and then using a lot of speed, and converting that speed into power."
He also leaned on the reality of life on the practice squad. Leota said those reps mattered, especially when most of his weekly work came against the starters in practice rather than in games.
"Oh, it helped out a lot. I know I was a P [practice] squad last year, but just being a scout team player, and I'm sure I'm going to be a scout team player again this year, which I need those reps. I like going against the ones, and those are my game reps throughout the week because I'm not going to get a lot of game reps, so I try to get my game reps in throughout the week," he said.
"Special teams though is where I'm gonna get my reps. So that's where I take pride in special teams."
That part matters for Leota’s future, because special teams is the kind of work that can keep a player around. But Arizona also has reason to be intrigued by what he can do off the edge. The Cardinals need a breakthrough at outside linebacker opposite Josh Sweat, and Leota’s preseason showed he can at least enter that conversation.
"Coach Nick [Rallis] our DC, he believes in my ability, and he told me to go play free, and I did. So I'm grateful for him, and to have a coach to believe in you, it helps a lot," Leota said.
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