When Zach Calzada sat at the podium last December, his eyes glassy, his voice trembling, he thought it was the end. The final whistle had blown on Incarnate Word’s FCS playoff run. His helmet sat beside him—silent witness to the pain of another season lost, another dream slipping away.
“It felt like goodbye,” Calzada admitted.
But life—like football—rarely follows a clean playbook.
Thanks to a redshirt year, a medical waiver, and the bonus COVID season (rules that extend eligibility for athletes sidelined by injury or special circumstances), Calzada’s college career isn’t over. Instead, it’s entering a seventh and final act. Not with Texas A&M, not with Auburn, not with Incarnate Word—but with Kentucky.
Yes, seven years. Seven helmets. Seven chapters. One more shot.
The fight in his blood
If you want to understand Zach Calzada’s persistence, don’t start on a football field. Start 60 years ago in Havana, Cuba, where his grandfather Hector Sr. watched his family’s legacy vanish under Fidel Castro’s communist regime.
The Calzadas had built a comfortable life with their family-run pharmacies—La Occidental and La Americana—cornerstones of their community. They enjoyed the rich Cuban lifestyle, and then suddenly their pharmacies and most of their money was taken. Stripped. Gone.
So, Hector Sr. and his wife Maria, a nurse, fled. Letting everyone think they were going on a honeymoon, the family fled and Panama was the first stop. Then Miami. Then Missouri, where they arrived with nothing but hope and a willingness to start again. Hector Sr. took any job he could—bartending at night after lifting furniture by day. Hector told ouresquina that the people of Webster Grove Christian Church were "buenisimos" or very good.
All so one day, their grandson could chase dreams like these.
“This country is tremendous,” Hector Sr. once said to ouresquina, “it gave us the opportunity to redo our life.”
Broken ribs, broken dreams—but never broken spirit
Zach Calzada grew up in Sugar Hill, Georgia, where he starred at Lanier High despite suffering a cracked rib and punctured lung as a senior. He missed most of the season but came back to lead his team to the state semifinals. It was a microcosm of what was to come.
Texas A&M came calling. He signed. He waited. He backed up. Then he broke out—with a performance for the ages.
On a night drenched in disbelief, Alabama reeled off 21 straight points to go up 38-31, but like so many times before and sine Calzada wouldn't quit. After leading a 65 yard TD drive and injuring his leg, Calzada once again stepped up. He led the team down the field and watched as a kick sailed through the uprights and wrote his name in Aggie history. Calzada had led the Aggies to a 41–38 upset of No. 1 Alabama in 2021. With three touchdowns and more guts than flash, he sent a stadium into a roar and launched himself into SEC lore.
The SEC Offensive Player of the Week. Davey O’Brien Player of the Week. Maxwell Player of the Week. It should have been the start of something.
Instead, it was just another detour.
Auburn, injuries, and disappointment
He transferred to Auburn, eager for a fresh start. What he got was a shoulder injury, a coaching collapse, and a year that tested every ounce of his faith.
“I got a bad taste in my mouth,” Calzada told reporters. “There were people I thought would be there who weren’t. Maybe they feel the same about me.”
It was the lowest of lows. No snaps. No chances. No closure.
So, he went smaller—in name only. Incarnate Word, a powerhouse at the FCS level, offered something Auburn never did: belief.
And Calzada delivered. Over two seasons, he threw for 6,342 yards, 54 touchdowns, and led the Cardinals to a combined 17–5 record. He rediscovered his love for the game—and his purpose.
“I’ve been itching to get back,” he told KSR in February. “There were times I wondered if I’d ever play high-level football again. But this has always been the goal.”
The final chapter: Kentucky
Now he’s back. Back in the SEC. Back in the spotlight. And somehow, more grounded than ever.
At 24, Calzada will be one of the oldest players in college football. He’s lived more football lives than most, been a hero and a ghost, a starter and a question mark. But at Kentucky, he’s exactly where he needs to be.
“This is a chance at redemption,” he told reporters. “But it’s not about me. It’s about the team. I have to remind myself of that every day.”
He’ll get one more shot at Auburn on November 1—this time wearing blue and white in Jordan-Hare Stadium. A full-circle moment—not revenge, but redemption.
A Family Legacy Carried Forward
His journey has never just been his own.
His sister, Carolyn, is a Texas A&M soccer commit and U.S. youth national team player. His father, Tico, a record-breaking swimmer who learned years later that his dad went into debt just to help him compete.
And then there’s Hector Sr.—the grandfather who never saw his own brother again after fleeing Cuba but lived long enough to see his grandson become the first Latino starting quarterback in Texas A&M history.
“I’m very proud of him,” Hector Sr. told ouresquina. “Not because of football, but because of who he is.”
Seven years for a reason
Most quarterbacks don’t get seven years. Most don’t need them. But Zach Calzada did. Because this wasn’t just a career. It was a test of resilience, of character, of heritage.
He’s not the same kid who lit up Alabama in 2021. He’s better.
More battered, yes. But also more blessed. And more determined than ever to make every second count.
One last season. One last chance. One more time to make his abuelo proud.
The account of Hector Sr.’s escape from Cuba, including details about the family’s pharmacies and his subsequent jobs, along with his quotes about America and Zach’s character, are drawn from “Cuban Missile: Zach Calzada Embodies American Dream,” Our Esquina, 2021, available at https://ouresquina.com/2021/cuban-missile-zach-calzada-embodies-american-dream/.