MISSION — After spending the past two years protecting some of the top quarterbacks in the Rio Grande Valley for the Sharyland Pioneer Diamondbacks, offensive lineman Danny Villalobos’ next task will be protecting college QBs.
Villalobos signed to play with Peru State College on Tuesday, surrounded by family, friends, teammates and coaches. Located in Peru, Nebraska, the program competes in the Heart of America Athletic Conference (HAAC) at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) level.
“It was such a surreal moment for me. I had all the people who were always there for me — my family, my friends — just everybody who was happy to see me sign. It was a dream come true,” Villalobos said.
Now standing at 6-foot-6, the versatile guard/tackle began playing football in the fifth grade and instantly fell in love with the game. Villalobos quickly went from watching people dominate on the football field on TV to dominating himself as a lineman.
“The second I put on pads I just wanted to go and hit someone,” Villalobos said with a laugh.
Down in the trenches, it’s a non-stop battle from the opening kickoff until the final buzzer sounds — a challenge Villalobos looks forward to.
“I take so much pride in my blocking. Anybody who tries to line up in front of me, I just try to destroy them because their purpose is to get to my quarterback and I’ll never let that happen,” he said. “I just play every snap like it’s my last because you never know when an injury can happen. I take a lot of pride in what I do and I always go 100%.”
Playing on Sharyland Pioneer’s offensive line the past few years, Villalobos has been tasked with keeping Jacob Rosales and Eddie Lee Marburger upright.
In 2019-20, Villalobos played a key role up front for the Diamondbacks as Pioneer’s offense ranked tops in the Rio Grande Valley. His blocking helped allow then-junior quarterback Marburger to flourish as he earned APSE 5A All-State honors after throwing 58 touchdown passes, which ranked No. 1 in Texas and No. 8 in the nation. Marburger’s 4,505 passing yards also ranked No. 2 in the state and No. 9 in the nation.
While Marburger frequently garnered headlines, the first group the Pioneer quarterback always thanked in post-game interviews was his offensive line and guys like Villalobos.
“My favorite thing about the position is it’s so unknown. I love being a part of the offensive line — there’s no other position I’d rather play. We’re all so close and we take it to heart when they touch our little brother at quarterback, he said.
Now, Villalobos is headed to Peru State College where he’ll use his size, strength and work ethic as he plans to work his way toward a starting gig.
“Peru State is going to get a player that’s never going to quit and always going to go 100%. Every practice, every day, I’m going to get there and try to get the starting spot as soon as I can and work my butt off for it,” Villalobos said.