Owls glad change is in the heir
Calderon doesn’t stick with his dad’s position but finds success as defensive back
Like so many in Texas, Prudy Calderon has football running through his blood.
His uncle Joe, a two-time all-conference punter at Angelo State, earned a free-agent tryout with the Buffalo Bills. His father, Prudencio, was a standout running back at San Marcos High School.
“He was a big hometown hero type guy, and I thought, ‘I want to be like him one day,’ ” Calderon said of his father.
Family has been integral to his success. Calderon wore his dad’s No. 27 until eighth grade, when he switched positions and numbers, seeking to start the path to his own legacy.
He adopted No. 32 before settling on No. 4. A former running back like his father, he switched from carrying the ball to throwing it as a QB — a position that brought more responsibility but greater public scrutiny, his dad cautioned.
Still, that didn’t deter him.
He was a three-year starter at his father’s alma mater, earning all-district honors as a defensive back his junior season. As a senior, he was named the district’s offensive MVP and led the Rattlers to their first district title since 2003.
Thoughts of Yale
The same dynamic that led to Calderon’s high school success could be playing out at Rice. Although a coaching change nearly led him down a different collegiate path.
Weeks after former Rice coach David Bailiff was fired and just three days before last December’s early signing period, Calderon decommitted from Rice — instead opting for Yale.
College scouts had taken notice of Calderon’s nose for the ball as a defensive back. His athleticism as a quarterback (3,039 yards of total offense as a senior) was hard to ignore, too.
Yale was the first to offer him in March 2017. Offers from Rice, Texas State and Army came in the following months.
Current linebackers coach Scott Vestal — the only holdover from Bailiff’s coaching staff — initially sold Calderon on Rice. But the uncertainty left by Bailiff ’s exit opened the door for Yale as the first school to actually extend a full offer.
A strong education was something Calderon’s parents, who never graduated college, emphasized to him early on, and Yale fit that bill.
But once current Rice coach Mike Bloomgren took the reins on South Main, he worked to get the Owls’ decommits back into the fold. He helped sway Calderon back to Rice by the February signing day, partially selling him on the potential for early playing time.
“I just had to come here,” Calderon said of Rice. “(My parents) both wanted me to learn from what they didn’t do in their past.”
Calderon impressed early in Rice camp and nudged his way into the starting lineup for the first time on Oct. 6 against UTSA.
A game later, he recorded his first interception on a leap between two Alabama-Birmingham receivers deep downfield.
A month after that, he is tied for third in Conference USA with a team-leading four interceptions — the most by an Owl since Phillip Gaines (now playing in the NFL with the Browns) in 2013. He has established himself as such a fixture on defense that safety Houston Robert — whom he replaced in the starting lineup — recently submitted his name to the NCAA’s transfer portal.
“Coming in for me personally, you want to be an all-conference player. … I’ve excelled at what I’ve wanted to do so far, but this only sets the foundation for what I want to be,” Calderon said, before pivoting to his larger goal to see Rice excel in C-USA again.
Learning curve
Calderon continues to impress as a ballhawking defender. He scooped up a fumble and broke up a pass against LSU last Saturday. With the season finale against Old Dominion on Saturday, the true freshman has an eye toward improving his speed and quickness heading into his first collegiate offseason.
“The biggest thing for me — and any freshman making the transition — is the confidence,” he said. “Where I’d like to take my biggest step is just being more comfortable (covering the slot).”
As he reflects on his personal progression, he sees a parallel between his high school and college careers.
“What I see this as is similar to what happened at my high school in my hometown. There was a new coaching staff that came in before I got there,” Calderon said, recalling seventh grade. “He got there, changed the program completely, put in new traditions. He just tried to change the culture like what we’re doing here.
“The first season was not good, the second season was improvement, and by the time I got there, we were just winning games. My senior season, we lost one game in the regular season, so I see that as what we’re doing here. I think the future’s really bright.”