BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
MISSION — It’s hard to believe, but a Landry Gilpin signing ceremony wasn’t in the cards just a few months ago.
Gilpin had had football programs reaching out to him for a while, but he had been leaning toward pursuing academics as a full-time college student.
“I figured I wouldn’t play. I didn’t think it was a part of my future,” Gilpin said. “My parents were there with me the whole way. They said, ‘If you don’t want to play football, you don’t have to. Do what you want to do.’ They also said, ‘Don’t give up on it completely. Take a few (college) visits and see if you want to be a part of something like that.’”
Gilpin, along with his parents, took an official visit to Southwestern University in Georgetown, which is a half-hour north of Austin up Interstate 35. Upon his arrival to the campus and athletic facilities, the Gilpins were smitten.
“I initially thought I’d be meeting with the recruiting coordinator who had been talking to me. Once I got there, I met the whole coaching staff and the whole team,” Gilpin said. “That was a big thing to me. These players have their own lives and they weren’t scheduled to come in when I came, but they came and helped out. I could tell this program meant a lot to them. That was something I wanted to be a part of: where the coaches are involved as well as the players. They want to help out the next generation of Pirates.”
After spending his entire life as a Patriot, Gilpin officially signed a letter of intent to become a Southwestern University Pirate on Wednesday afternoon.
“Since he announced his commitment to Southwestern, the support has been so positive,” Landry’s father and Mission Veterans coach David Gilpin said. “I’m so appreciative of the support from our community and from around the state of Texas. They see that this is a good decision for him and I think he needed to know that it’s OK to play Division III football. I believe he’s going to excel up there. We were able to watch some film with the (Southwestern) head coach, who is also the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. That’ll be Landry’s guy up there. I love what they’re doing offensively. I think it’s a package made for Landry to succeed there over the next four years.”
Landry Gilpin put together one of the most successful seasons a Rio Grande Valley quarterback has ever experienced. He accounted for 6,656 yards of offense, 4,544 through the air and 2,112 more on the ground. Gilpin tied a Valley record with 50 touchdown passes to go along with 32 rushing touchdowns in 14 games.
The Patriots qualified for the fourth round of the playoffs for the first time in school history and Gilpin racked in the postseason awards. Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine named him as its 2018 Mr. Texas Football Player of the Year. The Texas APSE picked him as its Class 5A Offensive Player of the Year. He also captured his second consecutive All-Area Player of the Year award from The Monitor.
Beyond his stellar 2018 season, Gilpin had one of the best careers in Texas high school football history. According to texashighschoolfootballhistory.com, Gilpin’s 9,366 passing yards are 10th-best all-time among Class 5A quarterbacks in the state. Regardless of classification, his 9,366 passing yards are 35th-best all-time in the state of Texas. His 87 career touchdown throws rank Gilpin 24th most in Class 5A.
“It’s still a little surreal, even going back to the end of the season, to be honest with you,” David Gilpin said. “I don’t think it’s fully hit me that Landry’s not going to play for us anymore. It has to a certain extent because we’re already here putting work in the weight room for next year.”
Southwestern went 6-4 last season as a part of the American Southwest Conference. The league features Hardin-Simmons, which ended the 2018 season ranked as the No. 6 team in Div. III, as well as Mary Hardin-Baylor, a 15-0 team that has won two of the last three Div. III national championships.
“Being in this conference doesn’t give you any room to slack off,” Gilpin said. “You really need to become the best player you can be for your team to be in a conference like that. I like that there’s a big, bad wolf. It’s always great if you can take the big, bad wolf down. We’re going to be fighting for that.”