Renick, Morris making plays close to home
COLLEGE STATION — Chris Andersen, aka the NBA’s “Birdman,” first put Iola on the map about 20 years ago. Texas A&M tight end Ryan Renick has Aggies reaching for their smartphones to once again tab the tiny town 20 miles northeast of Kyle Field.
“He’s the only big name from Iola, really,” Renick said with a chuckle of Andersen, who last played in the NBA in 2016.
Sure enough, Wikipedia lists Andersen as the town’s lone “notable resident.” Meanwhile, Renick, a junior, is quietly listed as one of 36 under-the-radar players in the A&M media guide — aka “other returners” — but is making a noticeable push to finally earn an entry on the Iola Wikipedia page.
“Renick is playing super football,” A&M coach Jimbo Fisher said of his walk-on who lately has become more of a run-on for the Aggies. “All that guy does is do it right, block where he’s supposed to be, put his hat where he’s supposed to put his hat … there’s a lot of unheralded things people don’t see in what he’s doing to help us play good football.”
The Aggies (6-3, 3-2 SEC), off this Saturday before hosting South Carolina on Nov. 16, have won three straight games entering the final quarter of the regular season, and Renick has played a budding role in each of the victories.
“He’s one of my favorite people; he’s just a football guy,” said A&M All-American punter Braden Mann, who counts Renick among the players providing his “shield” for punts. “He’s just one of those guys who grinds it out and loves the grind. Ryan is strong as an ox; his legs are like tree trunks.”
Renick is one of three Aggies this season from small towns near College Station who’ve contributed. Roshauud Paul of Bremond, 49 miles northwest of College Station, served as the primary punt returner the past couple of seasons before choosing to redshirt this year and mull his football future moving forward.
Devin Morris, a defensive back from Caldwell, 25 miles west of College Station, registered one of A&M’s plays of the year when he rolled to the ground with a Mississippi State receiver and came up with an interception on Oct. 26. The Aggies rolled to a 49-30 victory, the first time they beat the Bulldogs in four tries.
“Morris made a heck of a pick, that was a big turnover that got us going,” Fisher said.
Fisher pointed out it’s not easy for players who grew up in the shadows of a prominent stadium
— or even several miles across the prairie from it — to perform in front of family members, friends and an entire expectant community.
“The kids who grew up around here, who dreamed of playing here or whatever school they grew up around, sometimes there’s so much pressure from being near home you don’t play as well,” Fisher said. “Sometimes it doesn’t pan out. Then you walk around there your whole life and people say, ‘You went there, but you didn’t get it done.’
“That’s a big burden to carry, and people don’t understand the pressure that comes with that. For (Renick and Morris) to come out here and make plays and contribute and do what they’re doing, it’s great for our team.”
Morris arrived at A&M straight out of Caldwell High, redshirted in 2017 and didn’t play at all in 2018 in Fisher’s first season. Renick, a one-time baseball prospect out of Iola, started his college career as a walk-on tight end at Kansas and even roomed for a short time with another Jayhawks tight end who wound up at A&M: Jace Sternberger.
Sternberger, Fisher’s first recruit at A&M, developed into an All-American last season at A&M and became a third-round NFL draft selection of the Green Bay Packers last April. The less-heralded Renick was pressed into action alongside true freshman Jalen Wydermyer because of injuries to touted freshman Baylor Cupp and sophomore Glenn Beal, and even earned a start this season.
Not bad for a walk-on who wasn’t sure he would play again after tearing a ligament in his knee last spring and undergoing two surgeries. Five months later, he was back on Kyle Field, making plays for the Aggies 20 miles from home.
“Around June, I was thinking I would redshirt this season,” Renick said. “Fortunately I was able to make it back toward the end of (August) camp. I just showed up every day, did my rehab and worked hard. It worked out.”