Labor Day has passed and that means another college football season has kicked off. The 2017 NCAA Football season is already a special one. The talent gracing the gridiron this year will be fun to watch from top to bottom, especially in terms of Latino players. Latino’s have made their mark in college football over the last few years, and last year’s group definitely made their presence felt. For 2017, another group of Latino men are ready to step in and take the game by storm.
Here are the game changers for the 2017 season….
Braxton Berrios, Wide Receiver, University of Miami
After only seeing samples of production from this 21-year-old over the three previous seasons, this senior is primed for breakout year in 2017. Berrios, a Puerto Rican from Raleigh, North Carolina, has caught 48 passes for 531 yards and six touchdowns in a Hurricanes uniform thus far. After losing five offensive playmakers from last season’s team, Berrios is ready to step into a starters role to help replace those players. If No. 16 Miami hopes to keep pace with the likes of Florida State and Clemson in the always-difficult Atlantic Coast Conference, Berrios will have to play at an All-American level and add his name to the long list of great Hurricanes wide receivers.
Ricky Aguayo, Kicker, Florida State
The Seminoles latest place kicker has quite the legacy to live up to. The son of Mexican immigrants, and the younger brother of former FSU and current NFL kicker Roberto Aguayo, sophomore Ricky Aguayo has already scored 109 points (19 field goals, 52 extra points) in his young career. The 19-year-old took over for his older brother after he had been drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2016. Ricky spent his freshman year as Roberto’s backup. Considering Roberto scored 405 career points, was a three-time All-American, three-time All-ACC, a Lou Groza Award winner and was a member of FSU’s 2013 national championship team, Ricky has some big shoes to fill.
But if the tenth ranked ‘Noles look to dethrone the reigning ACC and national champion Clemson Tigers, they’ll need every Aguayo kick to help them get there.
Jordan Perez, Linebacker, Stanford
In a conference where offense reigns supreme (Pac-12), this native of Carlsbad, California is proving that defense can still be relevant on the pass-happy west coast. Perez already has 60 career tackles, one career sack, and two career pass deflections in a Cardinal uniform. As a senior, he will add to those numbers as Stanford seeks their first Pac-12 title since 2015. Perez is in a unique position as 14th ranked Stanford is one of just nine Football Bowl Subdivision schools – out of 130 – who utilize the 3-4 defensive scheme which is highly popular in the National Football League. As such Perez and his Cardinal teammates will be looking to spoil the hopes of teams like Southern California, UCLA, Washington, Notre Dame, Oregon and arch-rival California – no small feat.
Auggie Sanchez, Linebacker, University of South Florida
USF is another school with a family dynasty to some degree. Aggie -a fifth-year senior- originally went to Tampa as a fullback. His brother Armando played linebacker for the Bulls from 2008-2011 and it wasn’t long before Auggie converted to his brother’s position. It’s a move that has paid off as Sanchez has powered the Bulls defense with 309 tackles, six and one-half sacks, seven pass deflections and two interceptions.
Sanchez played a major role in the recent rise of the USF football program which was long one of college football’s door mats. What used to be a guaranteed win for many teams is now one of the most difficult challenges as the 21st ranked Bulls have gone 27-25 with Sanchez in uniform and have made two straight bowl game appearances. They also missed out on last year’s American Athletic Conference championship game by just one game. With some changes taking place within the AAC this offseason, the Bulls are a huge favorite to win their first conference title in school history.
Jonathan Hernandez, Punter, University of South Florida
Before the aforementioned Sanchez can do his thing on the field, special teams have to do their job first. This is where Hernandez comes in. His strong leg puts opposing offenses in a tight spot before Sanchez is unleashed. The Florida State transfer has 75 career punts that have gone for a total of 3,086 yards. He averages 41 yards per punt and his career long is 66 yards. If USF is to win the AAC this year, rest assure that the leg of Hernandez will play a significant role.
Cristian Garcia, Linebacker, University of Florida
From team videographer, to walk-on, to scholarship linebacker to straight up hero; that’s Cristian Garcia in a nutshell. The 230-pound senior literally worked his way from the bottom in order to make a name for himself at one of college football’s premier programs. Garcia only has eight career tackles in Gators uniform between 2015 and 2016, but this year he’ll be in the spotlight and you can expect him to add to those numbers for the nation’s 22nd ranked team. As if that is not enough, Garcia is also a standout off the field. As was reported by ABC News Garcia was instrumental in saving a young women from a sexual assault on campus. Now that’s a man changing the face of the game.
The regular season has just kicked off so enjoy watching these ‘LLERO’s change the game this season.
