Hollywood Moment Caps Silas Nacita's Wild Journey of Homelessness, Ineligibility

The closure he has craved came in Virginia Beach, a place unaccustomed to granting football wishes.

Playing in a game you’ve never heard of, wearing a helmet that was not his, operating on a foot that would not cooperate, Silas Nacita, the young man without a team and once without a roof over his head, saw his arduous journey fulfilled in a single afternoon.

It’s a script almost too good to be true. It’s the kind of story seemingly constructed for Hollywood. It’s a tale—and this is the most important part—with many chapters still to be scribed.

But when Nacita lumbered through the end zone in double overtime at the Dream Bowl—an all-star game geared toward collegiate athletes playing at programs you didn’t even know existed—he erased the pain of everything it took to get there.

He broke free of his shackles. He was finally at peace with his life, his failures and with football.

The days and nights he spent homeless, hitchhiking on highways and fast asleep in ditches were forgotten. The persistent ache of having his dream pulled away instantly subsided in the ecstasy of it all. Even his backup plan took a grueling, unexpected twist, although that didn’t matter in the moment.

“God is good,” Nacita told me following his first game in more than 365 days.

This sentiment did not abruptly emerge from triumph. During the darkest hours, Nacita uttered these same words. He never wavered on his faith or his desire to play—even if it was only one more time.

“I’m very pleased with the fact that he continues to go after that dream, whether some feel it’s realistic or not,” Silas’s mother, Amonna, said, speaking for the first time since her son’s saga began. “Most people would have just given up and pursued something else. But he has persevered. He has turned his life around.”

Nacita’s introduction came when Sports Illustrated's Ken Rodriguez profiled a young man who struggled with his home life, who didn’t get along with his mother, who played at Cornell his freshman season before eagerly saying farewell, who waited tables to pay for tuition, who endured homelessness before eventually touching down at Baylor as a walk-on.

Even in a reserve role that rarely allowed him playing time, Nacita quickly became a celebrity as word of his journey spread. The Waco crowd would roar when he would enter a blowout, and he would often deliver something more for them to cheer for.

He even acquired his own nickname: "Salsa Nacho."

In February 2015, however, Nacita’s football life was derailed. A Baylor official pulled him aside and told him that he was suspended from the team until further notice for receiving improper benefits.

On March 25, Nacita confirmed to Bleacher Report that he was permanently ineligible following an investigation.

Image via Silas Nacita

The foundation in his football home began to crumble, although Nacita did not simply lay down. Not long after the news became official, he committed to Southwestern Assemblies of God University, an NAIA program in Waxahachie, Texas.

He spoke of the decision and how his purpose had been re-energized. He thought hard about leaving Baylor—a school he was so deeply entrenched in—although playing football trumped all.

This was an opportunity to move that dream forward, although this plan quickly came undone.

In an email obtained by Bleacher Report, head coach Frank Tristan had to tell Silas—a young man who shared his passion for faith—that he would not be able to play in his program. He did not have the necessary waiver to participate at this level.

“I really apologize for the situation and I am sorry that we led you astray,” he wrote. “Unfortunately, the NAIA was pretty cut-and-dry, thus the appeal process didn’t go our way.”

Nacita had hit the wall. He was ready to succumb to the realization that his dream had passed him by. Instead of drifting whimsically toward his next football adventure, he returned to the place that still felt like home.

He enrolled back at Baylor before last fall, living 15 minutes outside of campus with a family he met at church. This was no longer about football; it was about getting a degree.

He kept his body in shape—working out with the students at the rec center when he could.

His schedule made that difficult. Last semester, he took 19 hours in classes—finishing with four A's and one B. This semester, he filled up once again with an 18-hour class load.

If all goes according to plan, he will have his degree in May.

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

As the ground beneath his feet started to harden and he formed a new routine, Nacita was approached by a man named Neil Malvone—the executive director of the Dream Bowl and founder of Cutting Edge Sports Management. Malvone also teaches sports management classes at Brooklyn College and Caldwell University.

When speaking to his students in a lecture last October about compliance, Nacita’s situation became the subject of a lengthy class discussion. The story touched Malvone. So much so that he decided to invite the former FCS player to the Dream Bowl as he assembled rosters.

“It was instantaneous,” Malvone said on Nacita’s response. “He was just delighted and grateful for the chance to play football again.”

The Dream Bowl is essentially an FCS showcase—a game still in its infancy but growing quickly. It’s a chance for players from much smaller programs to enjoy a little face time with CFL and NFL scouts before throwing on a suit or applying for a different profession entirely.

Even this opportunity came with an unforeseen snarl for Nacita. With NFL scouts in attendance, eligibility concerns again became an issue.

“Once we determined he was not draft-eligible, I had to make a very difficult call,” Malvone said. “I told Silas that if he wanted to play, none of the scouts could come. He was very quick to reject that, saying it wasn’t fair for everybody else.”

Nacita made the trip to Virginia Beach for the showcase regardless, although he did so as an honorary captain. For two days, he was a bystander.

As the Dream Bowl inched closer, the NFL scouts slowly flocked to their next destination. If all scouts left by the time the game began, Nacita would be allowed to play.

“I must have asked the last scout six times what his plans were,” Malvone said. “We had no idea until Sunday afternoon that he would be eligible to play on Monday.”

Finally, a breakthrough.

Without taking a single rep, Nacita prepared for a game—bum foot and all. His most pressing concern wasn’t learning the offense. It was actually somewhat similar to what he ran at Baylor. It was finding a helmet.

The helmet he had been given shortly before the game was plain white with a few Dream Bowl decals. “It was like the helmet you’d see in Remember the Titans,” Nacita joked. When he showed it to his teammates, all they could do was laugh.

Image via Silas Nacita

Instead, Nacita turned to an unexpected place to protect his brain: Millersville University in Pennsylvania.

Joey Pham, a defensive back from the school, had pulled a hamstring while working out. Since he was unable to play in the actual game, he was more than happy to share his headgear. It fit like a glove.

The rest came naturally. This part was never in doubt.

Having been out of the game for more than a year, Nacita, sporting his Millersville helmet and the shoulder pads he had only recently acquired, was at home as soon as kickoff came.

He was a child thrown into a candy store without a budget from Mom. He savored every moment.

Sharing reps with four other running backs, he treasured each carry. When he was assigned to pass protect, he happily threw his body in harm’s way. Having never played a down on kickoff or punt return coverage, Nacita tossed himself on the field with his coach’s blessing, anxious to soak up every moment possible.

“As the game went on, I remembered the feeling,” Nacita said. “It was the most relaxed I have ever been in a game. I have gone through so many different things—so many twists and turns—and I came to the peace that it was just fine if I never played again.”

Jordan Neal, the head coach of the Crusaders, watched film deep into Sunday night when he learned he had a new addition to his roster. He wanted to get to know his player.

After he was done watching high school and Baylor tape, he read up on Nacita’s history. He wanted to know more. The following day, he put Nacita into the rotation without limitations.

“When we got out to the game, I’ll be honest, I had my doubts,” Neal said. “We had some really outstanding running backs in the game. I never imagined it would have turned out like it did.”

Image via Silas Nacita

With the two teams tied, the Dream Bowl crept into double overtime. Nacita’s team, the Crusaders, regained the ball after a Patriots turnover with a chance to win.

Having been on the field the past two plays, Nacita was coming off the field for likely the last time. His head coach intervened.

Neal asked Zach Grasis of Worcester Polytechnic Institute if Nacita could take his place. His teammate, fully aware of the circumstances, happily gave up his turn.

“I think Silas had to hold back tears right then on the sideline just for the opportunity,” Neal said.

The game bled closer to the finish and the team readied for a game-winning field-goal attempt as they neared the goal line. If they did not pick up a first down or touchdown on the next play, it would be up to the kicker.

With one play left, Neal called an inside zone. Nacita had one last chance.

There was no hole to wiggle through—just a wall of linemen and human barriers. Instinctively, Nacita spun to create his own space, maintaining his balance and shifting seamlessly into his next direction.

He cut the run inside, where he plowed through a line of arm tackles. Nearing the end zone but unaware of how much farther he needed to travel, he leapt into the air and ended the game.

“You’re not rooting for one team or the other,” Malvone said. “But when he crossed the goal line, I threw my hands up in the air. I was a fan just like everybody else. I was just so happy for him. He can walk off into the sunset now.”

Back home, no one knew about this moment. Nacita, unaware that he would actually suit up, kept this quiet from his family. Not even his mother or girlfriend knew.

Only his brother was there to witness the run firsthand. He shared the news with everyone else.

Image via Silas Nacita

The responses floored Nacita as he was buried with praise. Most had never heard of the game, and there was no true box score to share. The touchdown will never be seen by most.

But it didn’t matter. This moment—those nine yards and the hours that came before it—was a rebirth.

In the days that followed, Nacita was greeted with yet another opportunity.

Following his performance, a scout from the CFL reached out, wondering if Nacita would have any interest in participating in a tryout in the next few months. Malvone will help him pay for the costs to make this possible. Nacita, while finishing up his degree, plans to pursue his dream a little longer.

Perhaps this is the end. Perhaps Nacita will never step foot in another regulated football game. Perhaps he will graduate and finally say goodbye to the game.

Or maybe, the end of his journey is not actually the end at all.

“I know there is so much left. I know there is so much more I can give that no one has ever seen,” Nacita told me. “But if this is indeed the end and there is no more, I got the closure that I need.”