Plenty of programs landed commitments on Saturday, but none like the one Baylor got from a Plano West (Texas) athlete.
Ricardo Benitez agreed to continue his football career at Baylor, which is remarkable since he never should have had a career in the first place. Benitez was born with a condition called Femur Hypoplasia Bilateral, which means he does not have femurs in his legs.
“Doctors told my parents I had a condition called Femur Hypoplasia Bilateral and it might be best to stop the pregnancy,” Benitez told MaxPreps last year. “They said I had a hole in my heart, would be in a wheelchair the rest of my life and never play sports. But my parents saw me as a gift from God and went on with the pregnancy. I crawled until I was two and didn’t start running until I was five.”
Benitez stands 4-foot-2, dresses out with his Wolves team every week and runs routs just like everyone else. Here he is at an SMU camp last year.
The only disability in this world is a bad attitude. SMU football camp 6/3/17 #GodsPlan @coachchadmorris @SMU_Football pic.twitter.com/ZJohv59Tyg
— no femur kid (@nofemurkid) June 5, 2017
Benitez also camped with Baylor last summer and committed to the Bears on Saturday. “I played four years of high school football, and cherished every second of it. When the season ended I knew I was not done being a football player,” Benitez wrote in a Twitter post. “I did not know where, but God did. I received a call from Coach Brown at Baylor University. After a long process, and with tears in my eyes, I can finally announce I will be given the chance to go to college, and play football at Baylor University.”
Thank you God. 136% committed. pic.twitter.com/L6trX3Vr30
— no femur kid (@nofemurkid) April 21, 2018
