During his first season at the helm for the Mission Veterans Patriots, then-sophomore quarterback Ricky Reyna suffered a break in his left leg Oct. 12, 2019, sidelining him for the remainder of the season.
The setback brought doubt to Reyna’s mind, asking himself why he got hurt and leading to him taking a more cautious approach to the game.
“For a while, honestly, I wasn’t unsure, but I didn’t want to get hurt again,” Reyna said. “I guess that’s what you think when you break a bone or break your leg. … I feel like my junior year I was a little bit cautious. I didn’t feel like I was the same player I was my sophomore year.”
On Tuesday, just over two years removed from his season-ending leg injury, Reyna made his dream of playing collegiate football a reality, signing his national letter of intent to continue his academic and athletic career at Southwestern University, a Division III program which competes in the American Southwest Conference.
“It felt like it was a goal I always wanted to accomplish that I reached,” Reyna said. “Obviously, not every high school athlete gets to play college ball. Everyone dreams of signing to a college and going to play ball. For it to be laid out right there in front of me, it’s like a dream come true. It feels like the hard work I put in since I was little paid off.”
While his passing numbers improved in both yardage and touchdowns as a junior, Reyna’s rushing numbers dropped by nearly half from 353 yards to 158 yards.
Going into his senior season, Reyna said he knew he couldn’t keep playing it safe if he wanted to get to the next level and lead his team.
Reyna returned to form during his final season, throwing for 2,760 yards and 27 touchdowns, while adding 348 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground.
His offensive performance helped guide the Patriots to a District 16-5A DII title and a return to the postseason after missing the playoffs last season, while earning him District 16-5A DII’s Offensive Player of the Year.
“You just saw the confidence growing back as the anxiety kind of went away,” Mission Veterans head coach David Gilpin said. “By the time he was back to his normal self, he never thought about it. If he needed to go, he went. … It just took a little while for him to gain that trust back in his leg and learn to trust his instincts on the football field. As he continued to do that, we saw him develop back into that dual-threat quarterback he’s always been.”
Reyna is the latest Mission Veterans’ quarterback to sign collegiately, with the last five Patriots’ starters, including Reyna, all moving on to the next level.
Adrian Morales and Santos Villarreal were the first two to sign, each committing to the University of Mary Hardin Baylor in 2012 and 2015, respectively. They were followed by Diego Hernandez, who signed with Incarnate Word in 2017.
He’ll join his predecessor Landry Gilpin, who signed with Southwestern in 2019, on the Pirates football team. The chance to watch and learn from Gilpin once again played a major role in his decision to join Southwestern, Reyna said, considering Gilpin like an older brother after serving as his backup during his freshman year.
Seeing his last two quarterbacks reunited at the next level is exciting, the elder Gilpin said.
“How cool is that? It’s not every day you get to see your last two quarterbacks have gone on to play at the next level and at the same school,” Gilpin said. “It’s identical. Ricky came in as a freshman during Landry’s senior year. Now he’s going in as a freshman during Landry’s fourth year. … Our quarterbacks have had a long history of success. Ricky Reyna is just the latest one in the hierarchy of greatness that Mission Veterans’ quarterbacks have accomplished.”
Reyna intends to pursue a degree in law enforcement or kinesiology, hoping to become a state trooper or return home as a football coach.
