DeMarvin Leal (born July 1, 2000) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formations over the years have substantially changed how the position is ...

for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played college football at

Texas A&M Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

. He was named a consensus All-American as a junior in 2021.

Early years

Leal attended

Judson High School Judson High School is a public, co-educational secondary school in Converse, Texas, United States, 15 miles northeast of downtown San Antonio. It was established in 1959 as part of the Judson Independent School District, and is currently class ...

Converse, Texas Converse is a city in Bexar County, Texas, United States, northeast of downtown San Antonio. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 27,466. It is part of the San Antonio Metropolitan Statistical Area. In 2017, Converse proposed the an ...

. He played in the 2019

U.S. Army All-American Game The All-American Bowl is a high school football all-star game, held annually at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas. Typically played in January, the All-American Bowl is played between all-star teams representing the eastern and western United S ...

. He committed to

Texas A&M University Texas A&M University (Texas A&M, A&M, or TAMU) is a public, land-grant, research university in College Station, Texas. It was founded in 1876 and became the flagship institution of the Texas A&M University System in 1948. As of late 2021, T ...

to play college football.

College career

As a true freshman at Texas A&M in 2019, Leal played in all 13 games and had seven starts. He recorded 38 tackles and two sacks. He returned as a starter his sophomore year in 2020. He started all nine games, recording 37 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and an interception. During the 2021 season, he was named a midseason All-American by the '' Sporting News'',

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. ne ...

, and ''

The Athletic ''The Athletic'' is a subscription-based sports website that provides national and local coverage in 47 North American cities as well as the United Kingdom. ''The Athletic'' also covers national stories from top professional and college sports ...

''. Leal completed the season with 58 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss and eight sacks, and was named a consensus All-American. Leal decided to forgo his final year of eligibility and enter the

2022 NFL Draft The 2022 NFL Draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The first round was held on Thursday, April 28, and ...

Statistics

Professional career

Leal was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the third round, 84th overall, of the

. He made his NFL debut in Week 1 against the Cincinnati Bengals. He recorded his first start in Week 5 against the Buffalo Bills. He was placed on injured reserve on October 15, 2022. He returned in Week 13. He finished his rookie season with two starts in 11 appearances. He had 14 total tackles and three passes defensed.

References

External links

Pittsburgh Steelers bioTexas A&M Aggies bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Leal, DeMarvin 2000 births Living people Players of American football from San Antonio American football defensive ends American football defensive tackles Texas A&M Aggies football players All-American college football players Pittsburgh Steelers players Judson High School alumni