Welcome to the 2021 ATX QB Room! A new series where I, Robert Gonsoulin, preview quarterback talent from high schools in the Austin area. Be sure to follow week by week to be ready for what Austin has in store for this season of Texas high school football!
In our fourth edition, I will be profiling Class of 2023 quarterback Ivan Villegas from Stony Point High School.
The first dual-sport athlete steps into 2021's ATX QB Room under the name of Ivan Villegas from Stony Point High School. What's even more surprising? His main sport isn't football. It's baseball. Villegas is a utility player who plays all over the infield and is working on getting recruited by top NCAA Division I programs. But don't count out his love for football just yet. He's coming into his first year as Stony Point's starting quarterback and cares just as much about his success on the gridiron.
Not all high school quarterbacks also play baseball like Villegas. It can be hard to manage both sports when you're favoring one over the other. But having the ability to play the two does have its advantages. When I asked Villegas how baseball has helped him with playing quarterback, he proceeded to talk about the similar throwing motion that both sports share, and then even added how football benefits baseball reciprocally. "In baseball, definitely pitching and throwing the ball...it's kind of like the same motion when it comes to playing quarterback….so they definitely go hand in hand. And football also helps me with baseball because the football is heavier than the baseball and helps you improve your arm strength….both go hand and hand for sure."
The Tigers open the doors of their 2021 season after recording a 2-4 record in a crazy 2020 year that was impacted by COVID-19. In 2019, they started off on a 6-0 record and made it to the UIL 6A Division 1 playoffs. Villegas looks to turn Stony Point back around this season and make last year's missed playoff appearance just a fluke.
For Villegas, he believes that chemistry and respect are the keys to starting things off right for Stony Point's upcoming season. "I would definitely define myself as a leader on the team. I bring energy to practice everyday. My teammates look up to me. They respect me and I have respect for them and we just all work together." He then alluded to the amount of seniors that the Tigers will have this season and the recognition that he and them both have for the hard work that they're putting in.
Catch the full in-depth interview below:
Getting noticed in football is something that Villegas hasn't ruled out of his future, however. Over the summer, he attended the skill camps at Texas A&M University, Texas A&M University-Commerce, and TCU. At the end of the day, getting to play both football and baseball in college would be the best of both worlds, Villegas made it seem.
As for Stony Point, they'll come into the season with a full desire for vengeance for how drastically they were outscored by multiple teams last year. This year, they hope to not let any of their opponents take them for granted as they hope to make their first season with a new quarterback in Ivan Villegas count. District 25-6A is accompanied by strong talents like Cedar Ridge, Vista Ridge, and Round Rock, but only time will tell to see if they can outlast what Stony Point has put together in 2021.
Ivan Villegas and the Stony Point Tigers will match up against Copperas Cove in Week One on August 26th at 7:00 PM at the Kelly Reeves Athletic Complex in Austin, Texas.