RAPID CITY, S.D. --- The South Dakota Mines football team doesn't just have one Leone listed at tight end, the Hardrockers have two Leones at the same position.

On the depth chart, junior Jake Leone is listed as the starter, with his sophomore younger brother Josh Leone as his backup. And they can be seen on the field at the same time.

Jake and Josh, from Fort Collins, Colo., might have similarities as brothers, but for the most part, they are different tight ends.

Jake, at 6-foot-3 and 235 pounds, is more of a pass-catching tight end, while Josh, at 6-1 and 220 pounds, is more of a blocking tight end. After three games, Jake is fourth on the team in receptions with eight for 118 yards.

"Jake has done a lot of great things this past year and I am very impressed with him the way he has practiced, the way he shows up every single day and wants to get better," Mines head coach Charlie Flohr said. "He is spending more time with the quarterbacks and working on timing. I think you have really seen that in the last three weeks, he's come up with some really big catches."

Josh, meanwhile, is a more fullback--hybrid type of tight end and has one catch for eight yards.

"Josh is newer to our program and maybe a different style tight end, but he is a tough-nosed kid that is willing to do whatever he needs to do for the football team," Flohr said.

The roles work out just fine for both Leones, especially if it gets them on the field at the same time. Jake estimates that they have two tight ends on the field at the same time about a third of the game.

"It is cool to have the two of us out there, although we are doing two different things," he said. "But we both get to be out there even though it is the same position."

Josh said he likes the tight-end situation for the Hardrockers with his brother.

"It works well when you have two tight ends that are different types, so you have a lot of variety out there on the field, instead of having the same tight end at two different positions," he said.

And as the blocking tight end, "it feels good to hit someone and put them on the ground," he adds.

Flohr said that with the tight end position they try to be as multiple as they can with them flexed out as pass catchers or down on the ball as blockers.

"It is just a great weapon for us to have as we are able to do different things in that position," he said.

Playing together again



The Leone brothers did play together at Fort Collins High School a little bit, but Jake said they were split up some because of their age difference (JV, varsity) and Josh played tackle his first three years before switching to tight end as a senior.

"Now that he is here, we get to spend a lot of time playing together and next to each other sometimes," Jake said. "It has been cool that sometimes we have to compete with each other, but we're not always competing, we're working together at the same position.

"We get after it a little bit, but at the end of the day we feel good about being brothers."

Josh said as brothers they are able to help each other out with plays and different situations. They get along on and off the field as they hang out outside of football. But, they are not roommates.

"He has his roommates and friends and I have my friends that I live with, but we still like hanging out together with his roommates and with my roommates," Josh said.

Flohr said the Leone brothers compete every day, which is fun to see.

"The great thing about it is they are competing at the same position, but they are also relying on one another to help the other one out if there are questions," he said. "They have a great relationship and come from a great family. We're real lucky to have them."

Jake – the first Leone at Mines

Jake is in his fifth year of school at Mines, but he has one more year of football remaining thanks to the NCAA's Covid rule that gave every play an extra year of eligibility.

He became a Hardrocker somewhat out of a whim.

"It was kind of a last-second decision to come here and it worked out really well for me," he said. "I was kind of looking at some other schools, and the last second I got some word from South Dakota Mines even before these coaches got here. It's been good. I couldn't think of being anywhere else."

Jake was down on the depth chart his first couple of seasons but moved up to a more prominent role last season, although he said it was still more of a 50-50 catching and blocking situation compared to this season.

"Especially this year I have fallen into more of a pass-catching role," he said. "That was what I always thought was one of my strong suits, going up and getting the ball, or at least catching the ball and running good routes."

Jake has also seen his pass-catching opportunities increase with the outstanding performances of senior wide receiver Jeremiah Bridges (22 catches, 462 yards, six TDS) and sophomore wide receiver Isaiah Eastman (23 catches, 294 yards, three TDS). The big-play threat has opened up shorter routes as well.

"The beautiful thing about having two really good receivers on our team is it makes guys want to guard them a lot more," Jake said. "So, you find yourself a lot more wide open and you can get the ball a lot more, which I feel has happened this year for sure. For me, it is like our tight ends have to know everything that is going on so you can be in there when we run the ball or you can work out of a tight spot out wide. I feel good about running short routes and even running long routes from time to time."

Jake said it has been a good start of the season although it was frustrating to lose to Truman State because he feels the Hardrockers should have won that game.

"Overall it feels different than the last couple of years," he said. "It feels like we know what is going on and I am super confident at the beginning of the game that we are going to take it to them."

Jake is working on an engineering management Master's degree after already graduating with a civil engineering bachelor's degree. He is currently working part-time in Rapid City at RESPEC doing some civil engineering design work.

Josh liked what he saw at Mines

Josh said his brother definitely had some influence on him coming to Mines. He also came to Rapid City a couple of times to watch Jake play and the Hardrockers won both games, which was an added bonus.

"I wouldn't have even known about South Dakota Mines without him coming here," he said. "I applied because he was here and just began reaching out to the football coaches. There was a different coaching staff back then and they kind of stop talking to me, but Coach Flohr reached out to me and that is what really brought me here in the end."

Although the blocking tight end doesn't normally get on the stat sheet much or receives much notoriety, Josh said their role can be a vital part of the offense.

"The tight end, if they get their block, can break the play," he said. "It can turn a 3-yard gain into a 50-yard gain. It is getting those big plays in, pushing the line of scrimmage back and helping the offensive line out."

While Jake is the pass catcher and Josh is the blocker, Josh has a bit of distinction as a receiver last season as he caught two passes for two touchdowns. Both were on the goal line.

"We were in a 13 personnel, a three tight-end package," he said. "They had me going out in the flat and it was a play that was designed to get me the ball, which was nice."

The Hardrockers haven't gone to that package yet this year. Is Josh campaigning to run it again?

"Maybe," he said with a laugh.

In his third year of school and sophomore in eligibility because of the Covid rule, Josh said he has had a good year so far fitting in with his role and playing special teams.

"Whenever I go in on offense, I just do what I am told," he said. "We have a good team out here. The offensive line is definitely doing what they do, we have good receivers catching balls and making plays and the quarterback throwing it downfield."

Josh is an electrical engineering major. He has a couple of internships that he has applied for. In fact, he had an interview Tuesday with the company Garmin.

About South Dakota Mines
The South Dakota School of Mines & Technology is a member of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference (RMAC) and NCAA Division II offering 10 men's and women's varsity intercollegiate athletic programs. The Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference is a premier NCAA Division II conference with 15 members, as well as four associate members, located in the states of California, Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, and Utah.