100 Greatest: No. 8 Player - Nati Valdez

Nati Valdez likes to say he just came along at the right time. Whether that's true or a slice of humble pie, those Mission High fans treated to the thrill of seeing Valdez play simply are glad he came along at all.

Valdez helped usher in the Eagles' golden age with a revolutionary offense, at one point led the nation in career receptions, still owns three Rio Grande Valley records and recently was the first post-1941 player from the Valley inducted into the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame.

As such, the former standout receiver was a cinch for the all-time list of top RGV players, where he checks in at No. 8.

"The nice thing about when we came out, when we did what we did down there, I think the Valley right around those times was just starting to kind of make a turn for, ‘All right, there are guys that are further south than San Antonio that can play,'" Valdez said.
"And so I feel like I'm one of these guys that kind of maybe opened some eyes."

The time was 1986 when Valdez first appeared on the gridiron map. With the help of fellow wideout Frank Hernandez and quarterback Lupe Rodriguez, he quickly set about rewriting the record books in Mission and beyond.

The '86 team clinched Mission's first playoff spot since 1968 and defeated Harlingen High for the first time since Tom Landry's playing days. Valdez finished third in the state with 59 receptions for 838 yards and 15 touchdowns.

After enduring the death of pioneering coach David Lee on Jan. 6, 1987, Valdez and company didn't miss a beat under Lee's successor, Rusty Dowling, in 1987. That team went three rounds deep in the postseason and finished 11-2 behind the Class 5A offensive player of the year in Rodriguez.

Valdez hauled in a then-state record 104 receptions for 1,612 yards and 15 TDs that season. He followed that by recording 80 receptions for 987 yards and six scores in 1988 after Rodriguez and Hernandez graduated, leading Mission to its first district title in 20 years.

He finished his three-year career with 252 catches, which still tops the state alongside Texas' Jordan Shipley, who tied the mark in 2003 after four seasons. The mark ranked ninth nationally through 2007, though only two players had more catches in three years.

"When I left in the spring of '89, when we graduated, that record was a national record," Valdez said. "So of all the people who had ever played high school football, I was the most prolific pass catcher. ... So absolutely, that was very, very, very special."

Before going on to play at BYU, Valdez secured Valley records in career passes caught, receptions in a season and career receiving yards (3,726) that stand today - numbers that even the unpretentious Valdez admits could have been bigger. He was a unanimous first-team selection to the all-millennium RGV football team in 1999.

"What people don't understand, we beat some teams pretty good down there for those three years, and so there were many Friday nights where, with five, six, seven minutes left in the third quarter, we were done," Valdez said. "We were already sitting, kind of just enjoying.

"So you start to think, ‘You know, what if some of these games were closer,' and, ‘What if we would have played full games?' Not that I would change it, but it's something people have asked me."

Jason McDaniel covered high school football for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach the sports department at (956) 683-4402 or via e-mail at sports@themonitor.com.

WHY THEY VOTED

Here's a summary of Nati Valdez's career, which played a major part in the player's ranking at No. 8:

Nati Valdez holds one state and three Rio Grande Valley receiving records set from 1986 to 1988 under the revolutionary passing offense first installed by the late David Lee.

He has been inducted into the RGV Sports Hall of Fame and the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame.

He finished his high school career with 252 receptions for 3,726 yards and 37 touchdowns, and went on to play in college at BYU.

THE SERIES

With the 100th season of high school football in the Rio Grande Valley upon us, The Monitor will take a look at the top 25 coaches, top 25 teams and top 50 players of all time.

THE PLAYERS

1: TBA
AUG. 24

2: TBA
AUG. 23

3: TBA
AUG. 22

4: TBA
AUG. 21

5: TBA
AUG. 20

6: TBA
AUG. 19

7: TBA
AUG. 18

8: NATI VALDEZ
Mission High

9: jim Helms
San Benito

10: Jim Hudson
La Feria

11: Maurice Hunter
Harlingen High

12: George Strohmeyer
McAllen High

13: Roberto Garza
Rio Hondo

14: Mishak Rivas
Weslaco High

15: Tony Ellis
Brownsville Hanna

16: Bobby Ply
Mission High

17: Fred Edwards
Donna

18: Willie Crafts
Brownsville High

19: Jamaar Taylor
Mission High

20: Frank Hernandez
Mission High

21: Carlos Esquivel
Edinburg High

22: Jim Norris
Mercedes

23: Abel Gonzalez
Rio Grande City

24: John Mims
Mission High

25: Leo Araguz
Harlingen High

26: Juan Castillo
Port Isabel

27: Tommy Cox
La Feria

28: Jimmy Lawrence
Harlingen High

29: Luz Pedraza
Donna

30: Billy Garza
Brownsville Porter

31: Poppy Rodriguez
PSJA High

32: Jeremy Springer
Los Fresnos

33: Shon Flores
Port Isabel

34: Phil Hetrick
PSJA High

35: Joe Marichalar
Edcouch-Elsa

36: Alfredo Garza
Port Isabel

37: Charles LeGrange
Rio Grande City

38: Alfredo Lugo
Donna

(tie): Steve Alaniz
Edinburg High

40: Matt Gorges
Harlingen High

41: Justin Springer
Los Fresnos

(tie): Eliseo Pompa
Mission High

43: Donald Guillot
Port Isabel

44: Travis Sanders
Port Isabel

45: Gerald Lambert
McAllen High

(tie): Gonzalo Garcia
Brownsville High

(tie): John Lerma
Rio Grande City

48: Manny Gomez
Harlingen High

49: Donny Martin
Port Isabel

50: Robert Cortez
San Benito