Building a Legacy
In Del Valle, TX
Change has definitely been no surprise given the events of the last year or so. The nation has been held captive by strict social distancing protocols brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic in an effort to decrease further transmission of the virus. This change was felt worldwide within the athletic community as student-athletes struggled to gain guidance on recruiting and what competing at the next level would resemble during a pandemic. Many athletes were stuck wondering if that chance would even come.
The Del Valle High School Cardinals football team was lucky to secure a 2020 season and have an opportunity to compete. Many schools had their schedules pulled out from under them as social distancing protocols tightened and many panicked as transmission numbers quickly inclined. Even with some schools securing a 2020 season, recruiting was stifled and programs struggled to keep recruiting interest peaking during a nationwide lockdown.
After stumbling through an injury riddled 2020 season, the Cardinals were blindsided by the dismissal of long time Cardinal Head Coach, Charles Burton. This was a surprising move by the Cardinal board of trustees in an effort to facilitate change within a community that was embracing the huge construction of the Tesla plant and the ample amounts of opportunity that would come along with partnership within the school district.
Overall it was rumored Coach Burton had facilitated a 21–59 overall record in his time with the Cardinals and finished the 2020 season with a record of 2–5.
With new opportunities from Tesla came pressure from the Cardinal board of trustees to increase the production of the football team.
Del Valle Cardinals boasts one of the top training facilities in high school football totaling over $22 million in improvements.
Tesla has also recently touted a 9 million investment to Del Valle High School to implement their automotive education program. Coach Burton has produced many student-athletes with the Cardinal program who have gone on to play for top-tier universities and compete at the next level. One would have to speculate on the win/loss record being a determining factor for his release.
With the untimely dismissal of Coach Burton, came an avalanche of bad news within the program. Coach Burton withdrew his son, 5-star wide receiver and Ohio State commit, Caleb Burton. The Cardinals also lost another key receiver, Trenton Leary, who hauled in 17 touchdowns after Caleb Burton was sidelined for the 2020 season with a ligament tear. Leary and 2 All-District defenders for the Cardinals, Srraylin Gilliam and Kaleb Brown, all initialized transfer requests to attend LBJ High School for the 2021 football season. All-District sophomore defensive lineman, Jayden Cofield, also placed a transfer request to attend Manor High School for his 2021 football season. With big time talent leaving Del Valle High School to investigate opportunity elsewhere, 4-star sophomore wide receiver Braylon James and other athletes within the program became nervous about what was next for the Cardinal football program.
In the midst of all the uncertainty, Del Valle released news that the Cardinal football program would be gaining 2020 National Champion Head Coach Bobby Acosta as the new head coach for the program.
Coach Acosta joined the Cardinal program coming off a 2020 national title with IMG Academy with a record of 8–0, a GEICO High School Bowl Series title, and a final No. 1 national ranking from both MaxPreps and USA Today.
This appeared to be the glimmer of hope the Cardinals football program needed to turn things around for the better. Coach Acosta has already begun adjusting his accompanying coaching staff with the additions of Program Director, Clay Muench, and Defensive Coordinator, Cinjun Erskine. Coach Acosta is implementing a completely new approach to player and coach accountability and recruiting that has never been experienced within the program. The athletics scene in high school is no stranger to seeing a few standout athletes secure offers while many athletes in supporting roles who could secure opportunities at the D2, D3, or NAIA levels are left without visibility. Coupled with a lack of social media presence and a devastating recruiting process that now demanded a social media presence to be actively recruited, many Cardinals were left to find outside resources for recruiting advice. The Cardinals finished the 2020 season like many previous seasons before that with no stats reported to any of the major recruiting outlets and numerous athletes with no clue of what a recruiting profile entailed.
Coach Acosta has implemented a strong social media presence for the Cardinal program since his hiring in April, created recruiting profiles for each of the current student-athletes, added notable sponsor partnerships with BMW and Ally Medical Services, and has embraced the local Pop Warner Red Birds into the program to start exposing young athletes to the structure expected at the next level. Programs like Westlake and Lake Travis have proven how successful this can be for a program to start young athletes in the area working on high school concepts and growing with access to the high school’s structure of play.
Acosta has stated he is 100% devoted to building a championship team with 5-star character young men who are leaders on the field and in their communities.
It is rumored that the only athlete to secure a successful transfer from the Cardinal program was Trenton Leary. All other athletes have yet to secure a signature from Coach Acosta to become eligible to play with another high school football program for the 2021 season.
This could leave 4 very prominent athletes with a tough decision to make; lose eligibility for the 2021 football season or return to Del Valle to compete for the 2021 season.
The UIL is aware of the competitive recruiting done at the high school level, so a member of the Executive Committee has hinted at an especially meticulous focus on reviewing transfer requests this year. They strictly prohibit athletes placing requests for transfer based on football and an athlete could lose up to 3 years eligibility if found in violation. Hopefully these young men can reach an agreement and continue pursuing their dreams to compete at the collegiate level. We will have to stay tuned to see what other news unfolds with the Del Valle Cardinal football program.
