Yale’s Jaxton Santiago racks up TDs, SportsCenter highlights
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Xavier Andrade,
- September 20, 2026
Santiago leads our weekly recap of Latinos in College Football
Yale’s Jaxton Santiago put up so many highlights against Holy Cross, his first of two touchdowns was No. 3 on SportsCenter’s Top 10 plays of the day.
Santiago, a Puerto Rican from Bakersfield, Calif., had one of the best receiving days in the rich history of Yale Football. He had 12 catches for 234 yards and two touchdowns as Yale opened the season with a 38-28 victory over Holy Cross.
Santiago set the tone early with a spectacular one-handed grab that he turned into a 75-yard touchdown while cutting past defenders. He finished only 24 yards shy of Yale’s single-game record for receiving yards, which Ralph Plumb set in 2004 against Brown.
Santiago tied Reed Klubnik for third on Yale’s single-game receiving yards record.
Jaxton Santiago: Latino Player of the Week
The 6-foot-3 junior is more than a third of the way toward reaching the stats he put up during his breakthrough sophomore season, when he had five touchdowns and 687 receiving yards on 50 catches.
Jaxton Santiago earned Our Esquina’s Latino Player of the Week in Week 3 of College Football. Here’s how most of the other Latinos in Division I football did in Week 3. If we missed a player who identifies as Latino, please email CarlosLeon@OurEsquina.com.
Elijah Melendez racks up tackle
Auburn’s Elijah Melendez continues to look like one of the best linebackers in the SEC. The sophomore from Kissimmee, Fla., had a team-high 11 tackles (10 solo) and a sack in a 44-39 loss against Florida.
Missouri’s Nicholas Rodriguez had 11 tackles (two solo) in a 27-17 victory over Troy. Jahmir Torres had one tackle for New Mexico in a 14-6 loss to Oklahoma. Marco Beltran had an eight-yard punt return for the Lobos in the loss. Joenel Aguero had four tackles (three solo) to help Ole Miss beat Lane Kiffin and LSU 32-24.
Jasen Lopez fielded a punt for FSU in a 50-36 loss to Alabama. Kentucky tight end Willie Rodriguez made three catches for 22 yards in a stunning 31-21 upset over Texas A&M. Kicker David Olano made three PATs for the Aggies in the loss. UTSA receiver David Amador II had four catches for 11 yards in a 30-6 loss to Texas.
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Raul “Popo” Aguirre had six tackles for NC State in a 35-31 loss to Vanderbilt. Rico Flores Jr. had a 26-yard catch for Virginia in a 38-27 loss to West Virginia.
Rice safety Jo Chavez had four tackles in a 28-21 loss to Western Michigan. South Florida kicker Nico Gramatica made a 20-year field goal in a 59-17 victory over Deleware State. He added eight PATs. East Texas A&M’s Austin Iglesias had one tackle in a 42-0 loss to Tulsa.
Bryce Garza had one tackle for North Texas in a 49-35 loss to Texas State. Temple’s JoJo Bermudez had two carries for 30 yards in a 49-48 loss to Toledo. He also had three catches for 28 yards. Curly Ordoñez had a game-high 12 tackles in the loss. JiMair Diaz added a tackle for Temple.
Demond Williams II lights up scoreboard
Quarterback Demond Williams II threw for 373 yards and four touchdowns against Eastern Washington. He was 27-for-33 with one interception while also running for 33 yards on seven carries in the 48-16 victory. Eastern Washington’s Wilson Medina rushed for eight yards on five carries in the loss. Isaiah Perez had four tackles and a sack in the losing effort.
Iowa receiver Tony Diaz had two catches for 22 yards. He added an eight-yard carry in a 55-0 victory over Northern Iowa. Penn State’s Josiah Zayas had three tackles, and Tony Rojas had two tackles in a 55-13 victory over Buffalo. Donovan Rodriguez had two tackles for the Bulls in the loss.
Freshman defensive tackle Jamir Perez had two tackles in Ohio State’s 59-3 victory over Kent State. Joel Cordoba had a game-high seven tackles in the loss. Rafael Terrero Jr. added two tackles for the Golden Flashes.
Michigan State’s Nikai Martinez had four tackles in a 27-10 loss against Notre Dame. UTEP’s Marcus Torres had two catches for 10 yards against Michigan. Carlos Arreola added a 39-yard field goal and two PATs in UTEP’s 52-17 loss. Sebastian Vargas had an interception for Southern Illinois in a 48-10 loss to Illinois. Oregon safety Peyton Woodyard had one tackle in an 84-0 victory over Portland State.
Eastern Michigan’s Juan Salas had two tackles in a 54-10 loss against Wisconsin. Purdue kicker Jacobo Echeverria-Lozano made a 29-yard field goal and five PATs in a 52-38 loss to UCLA.
Alberto Mendoza leads Georgia Tech
Georgia Tech’s Alberto Mendoza threw for 249 yards and three touchdowns in a 44-11 victory over Mercer. Wake Forest quarterback Gio Lopez threw for 312 yards and three touchdowns with one interception in a 33-20 loss to Miami. He completed 29 of 46 pass attempts. Wake Forest receiver Carlos Hernandez made 10 catches for 69 yards and a touchdown in the loss. Hernandez also returned two punts for 14 yards.
Jordan Rodriguez had two tackles for Boston College in a 22-16 victory over Maine. Receiver Keyon Concepcion had one catch for Maine. Cam Chapa had four tackles to help Arizona beat Northern Illinois 42-17. Michael Salgado-Medina made six PATs in the victory.
Utah running back Steve Chavez-Soto had three carries for 10 yards in a 33-0 victory over Utah State. Anthony Garcia had two carries for eight yards and two catches for five yards in the losing effort.
Houston kicker Jonathan Dimas made a pair of field goals with a long of 31 yards against Texas Tech. He added two PATs in the 28-26 loss. Derek Eusebio made one tackle for Arizona State in a 24-17 victory over Kansas. David Santiago had four tackles (three solo) and an interception in the loss.
Luis Rodriguez had a 23-yard field goal for Kansas State in a 31-20 victory over Tulane. He added four PATs. Charlotte quarterback Colo Gonzales was 22 for 35 for 211 yards with two interceptions in a 26-21 loss against App State.
Old Dominion’s Josh Rodriguez had three catches for 11 yards in a 20-17 loss to East Carolina. RJ Garcia had an eight-yard reception to help Florida Atlantic beat Florida International 16-10. Hector Chavez and Tito Nuñez each added a tackle for FAU. Jackson Verdugo had a tackle in the losing effort.
Angel Flores runs past Central Michigan
Quarterback Angel Flores carried Central Michigan in a 24-10 win over Wyoming. The senior from Casa Grande, Ariz., rushed for 163 yards and two touchdowns while completing four passes for 32 yards. Linebacker Steven Perez made six tackles for Wyoming in the loss.
Nomar Tejada had a tackle for Cornell in a 20-7 loss to Colgate. Chief Montalvo had 28-yard catch for Colgate. Bucknell’s JJ Gomez had a 15-yard kick return and two punt returns for four yards in a 20-7 loss to Penn. Defensive back Jaden Carillo recorded two tackles in Fresno State’s 26-10 win over San Jose State. Greco Carillo made two tackles in the Spartans’ loss.
Ivy League schools kicked off their schedules this weekend, and Jaxton Santiago wasn’t the only Latino Ivy Leaguer who excelled. Brown receiver Jaden Garza-Pender had two catches for 41 yards in a 17-10 victory over New Haven. EJ Perez had two tackles in the victory.
Harvard’s Dante Torres had a four-yard carry in a 31-7 victory over New Hampshire. Jordan Gonzalez added two tackles for the Crimson. Austin Olivas had a tackle, and AJ Lopez defended a pass for Harvard. Da’Quan Gonzalez had a tackle for New Hampshire.
Columbia’s Austin Coronado had five tackles in a 40-34 victory over Lafayette. Bryant’s Dominic Diaz had one tackle in a 21-14 victory over Princeton. Jose Leon fielded a punt for Bryant.
Xavier Andrade
Xavier Andrade, who played football at Luther College, graduated with degrees in Communications and Political Science. He previously worked in editorial and social media for Hola Cultura, a Latino publication in Washington, D.C. Andrade currently coaches football at Hillsdale High School in San Mateo, Calif.
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