A Salute To Zach M’Fing Calzada

Zach Caldaza announced his intention to enter the transfer portal today.

What a ride is absolutely correct. What a ride for this young man who’s name is forever etched in Aggie lore for that gutsy win over Alabama.

Calzada came in in 2019 as a 3 star QB from Lanier High School in Buford, Georgia. We staved off a last-minute push from Georgia to get his signature.

Calzada saw mop-up duty for the 2019 season...getting time at the end of 3 blowouts...in 2020 Haynes King took over that backup role from Calzada, and all of us assumed that we’d probably never see Zach get any meaningful playing time.

And then 2021 hit...and Haynes broke his ankle. We could talk about his struggles but those have been hashed out over and over again. Zach came in against Colorado and threw one of the prettiest passes I’ve seen to Spiller in the endzone to get the go-ahead score.

I’m sure this season hasn't gone the way Zach wanted, but I’ll be damned if he leaves A&M without getting his flowers as one of the gutsiest, toughest, sons of bitches to ever play at Kyle Field. We’re talking about a dude who took a Bama player to the knee and still nailed a TD pass to Ainias. He went into the tent and came back and RAN for a first down. RAN FOR ONE AFTER TAKING THAT HIT TO THE KNEE.

We’re talking about a mfer with so much damn moxie that he put his head down AND TRIED TO RUN OVER AN SEC DEFENSIVE BACK resulting in his shoulder popping out. THE DUDE WENT TO THE TENT, HAD IT POPPED BACK IN AND CAME BACK AND WE WON THAT GAME.

I’ve said critical things of Calzada but I dont give a shit about any of that now. We owe him a debt of gratitude. I get why he’s portaling now before the bowl. The dude’s body is pretty broken and needs surgery before he gets his fresh start. I totally get it.

He wasn't perfect but that Alabama game will go down in A&M history as one of the ballsiest things any of us have ever seen. We can have a conversation about his fit in the offense but his toughness is unquestionable.

Godspeed Zach. I’ll be a fan of yours wherever you go.