VYPE Lamar CISD September 2022

\\ By De n n i s S i l v a I I R A N G E R S ’ C R U Z H O N O R S L A T E G R A N D P A T H R O U G H F O O T B A L L GRAMPS P L AY I NG FOR

playing the position.

ON JASON CRUZ’S RIGHT ARM IS A TATTOO. IT READS DATES IN ROMAN NUMERALS IN MEMORY OF HIS LATE GRANDPA, DANIEL YBARBO. Ybarbo introduced the Terry senior to football. Cruz loves the game, especially quar terbacking, because of all those Sundays when he and Ybarbo would watch the Texans. Or when they ’d watch the NFL Draft every spring, dissecting picks. When they weren’ t watching football , the two would play catch in the backyard. “Anything that had to do with football , we did it together,” Cruz said. Ybarbo passed away when Cruz was in the eighth grade. The two idolized Texans great Andre Johnson. Cruz wore Johnson’s number 80 when he played Little League. “He was the one who told me to pay attention to the players and watch how they did things,” Cruz said. “Any little thing that happened, he’d take the time to explain to me about why or how it happened. That ’s how I learned the game of football.” Cruz is skilled as a runner and passer, though generally more comfor table running the ball than throwing it . Last season—his first as a varsity quar terback after playing varsity as a sophomore receiver— he completed 47 of 102 passes for 553 yards and eight touchdowns to four interceptions. Cruz worked tirelessly this offseason on his passing. He already has the running par t down. One thing he also has is a passion that comes for

“Gotta love everything that comes with playing QB. I love it ,” he said. “I try my best to just let the game come to me. It ’s always a nervous feeling before every game but I’m never scared. Playing for my brothers on the field means I have to step up. It gets me going. I just want to be the best me I can be and get to the playoffs. That ’s the ultimate goal—get this team to the playoffs.” Cruz appreciates playing for a school with the tradition Terry has. The fieldhouse is adorned with pictures, mementos and records of past Ranger greats. There is a pride that comes with putting on the red and black . “Playing at Terry, there’s definitely a lot of guys whose shoes I want to fill ,” Cruz said. “I definitely want to live up to the hype.” Terry went 4-6 last season, but Cruz said he’s never seen the team work as hard as it did during the summer and offseason. He understands that games in August , September, October and November are won in April , May, June and July. He knows there is a lot of work to accomplish. He has big plans in football. Plans that matriculated on those Sundays with grandpa. “I’d feel like I would have really done well and made the most out of everything if I’m playing football at the nex t level ,” Cruz said of where he sees himself in 10 years. “I’m hungry for a school to take a chance on me.”

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