KINGSVILLE — Texas A&M-Kingsville football hasn’t won a conference championship since 2009. Its last season with a winning record was six years ago.
The tides are changing under third-year head coach Mike Salinas.
Salinas, an Edinburg High and TAMUK alum with head coaching stops at Edinburg Vela and Weslaco High, along with several former Rio Grande Valley high school football standouts on the roster, have helped the Javelinas clinch a winning season and pulled off the program’s best start since the 2009 campaign at 7-0.
“This is part of the vision and plan we had for our program. Didn’t know how soon we’d get ourselves to this point, but it’s hats off to our players and staff for the work they’ve done to this point,” Salinas said. “We’re looking forward tocontinue to finish the season to potentially put ourselves in a situation where we have an opportunity for postseason playand that’s what our goal is. We’re just going to continue to build off the things we’ve done to this point.”
Taking the field each Saturday with Salinas at the helm are 11 football stars who ranked amongst the top players at their respective positions during their high school days in the Valley.
The group is made up of redshirt sophomore quarterback Jacob Cavazos (Weslaco High); sophomore receiver Zaraivion Armendarez (Raymondville); redshirt freshman defensive back Seven Sanchez (PSJA North); redshirt freshman linebacker Jimmy Ortiz (McAllen Rowe); junior receiver Kevin Rojas (Edinburg Vela); sophomore defensive lineman Cirr Arredondo (McAllen High); sophomore offensive lineman Chris Leal (Edinburg Vela); redshirt junior offensive lineman Troy Billman (Donna High); redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Rafael Recio (Brownsville Pace); senior offensive lineman Julio Cuello (Edinburg Vela) and redshirt sophomore kicker Gilbert Garza (Weslaco East).
“It’s a great experience for those guys. For most of them, they’re about an hour and 45 minutes from home,” Salinas said.“We’ve had some guys from the Valley that have been part of our program the last couple years and have experienced some success and stepped in roles to be key contributors to our ball club. There’s a sense of familiarity from them.They’re just far enough away from home and still able to go out and experience being a college football player and student-athlete at the college level.”
Several have stepped into key roles for the Javelinas during their time with the program.
Cavazos earned the starting quarterback spot this season and has directed the TAMUK offense, which is averaging 30.1 points per game, which ranks third in the Lone Star Conference.
“When (Salinas) asked us to come here, his whole plan was obviously to turn this program around and get it back to where he believed it needed to be. We bought in, we believe in his culture and what he built here and we were able to start fast,” Cavazos said.
Cavazos is protected up front by Billman, Cuello and Recio, who have all started on the Javelinas’ offensive line this season. Donna’s Billman also serves as a team captain.
“On the offensive line, three of us are from the Valley and there’s a few other cats like Jacob who’s our starting quarterback this year. It’s great to see us Valley boys out here rocking with everyone else,” he said.
Cavazos and Cuello’s ties to Salinas date back to their days at Weslaco and Edinburg Vela, respectively.
Cavazos played quarterback under Salinas while at Weslaco High in 2017 and 2018. Cuello played offensive lineman for Salinas at Edinburg Vela during his freshman, sophomore and junior seasons from 2014-16.
“I’m grateful for it because I don’t think it’s something a lot of guys get to have — your coach from high school ends up being your college coach as well. It’s a pretty cool thing and I enjoy it,” Cuello said. “It makes me feel comfortable. I feelat home. A lot of times, having him there knowing that he knows me and has seen me come along, it makes me want to play because I’m playing for somebody who’s seen me grow, so it means more than just playing for anybody. You’re playing for something that means a little bit more because you’re playing for somebody who’s seen you grow.”
Weslaco East’s Garza had one of the strongest and most accurate legs while suiting up for the Wildcats and its translated to the college level. He’s been named Lone Star Conference’s special teams player of the week three times this season.
“It’s a team effort that all comes together. That individual recognition, it’s always nice, but at the end of the day, it’s ateam effort,” he said. “If no one blocks, if the snap doesn’t get to the holder and Jacob doesn’t hold for me, nothing ispossible. No kick is made without everybody.”
Establishing a program and turning things around has been part of Salinas’ coaching resume. His name has been rumored as a potential candidate for the same position at UTRGV, which expects to have a football program in place by 2025.
Salinas served as Edinburg Vela’s first football head coach when the school began competing at the varsity level in 2012.After an 0-10 record during the SaberCats’ inaugural season, he led the program to three playoff berths and two district championships during his five years. Edinburg Vela football remains amongst the top programs across South Texas in any classification.
“I think we’ve established a culture and sort of the standard that we want A&M-Kingsville football to be, and now the jobis to go out and defend that standard and culture on a daily basis,” Salinas said.
The Javelinas (7-3) are set to close out the regular season against Western Oregon (5-5) at 7 p.m. Saturday at Javelina Stadium in Kingsville.
