Leon Lowery is the first to admit, he’s a defensive end at heart. But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t love playing linebacker.

“I’m happy in a two-point (stance), rushing off the edge," Lowery said. "Dropping (in coverage) and doing what I’m doing now. But like I said, I like to pass rush, so that's a good part I like about that I still get to do.”

His nonstop motor is hard to miss.

“Ever since the spring, Lowery has had a different demeanor about himself," DB Jason Simmons said. "He's been practicing really hard.”

And it all stems from Lowery completely changing his body this offseason, adding weight, gaining muscle, becoming a leaner football player. That was the first thing Dino Babers noticed about his up-and-coming redshirt sophomore linebacker.

“When you're around a whole bunch of football players, they all lift weights, they all live and they all run and then all of a sudden, somebody that you've seen a lot of looks different. You know that they're working out as hard or harder than everybody else,” Babers said of Lowery.

“Changed up my diet," Lowery added. "Bulked up a little bit more and got faster, got stronger, quicker, which helped, helped a lot with my movement. Just like it's just a big role of why I'm in a position I am now. It's just something I notice, like seeing myself like from film last year, how I look kind of slim. Like I wanted to bulk up a little bit more, so I put them more ways. I'm able to like take on blocks more and get out blocks and move like get through them to make tackles.”

His transformation has been big so far, with Lowery earning the defensive game ball after the win over Western Michigan, and feeds off the energy of a talented linebacker room.

“Marlowe, Stef (Thomson) Derek (McDonald), Anwar Sparrow, we just all have a unique bond," Lowery said. "And we just talk to each other, communicate. So we just have trust in each other that we're going to do our job and just go out there and make plays. As long as one of us makes a tackle, we just hype each other up, just feed off each other's energy and just go from there.”

There’s always room for improvement. It’s something Lowery takes to heart as he looks to be the next big-name linebacker in Orange.

“I just take in everything I can," Lowery said. "We help each other out. So, like, it's just good to have guys like that in a room to teach you and, like, go off each other. Like I say, feed off each other's energy.”