Jose Casiano Portilla (born September 11, 1972) is a
Mexican-American
Mexican Americans are Americans of full or partial Mexican descent. In 2022, Mexican Americans comprised 11.2% of the US population and 58.9% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexican Americans were born in the United State ...
former
American football
American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...
offensive tackle
Offensive may refer to:
* Offensive (military), type of military operation
* Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative
* Fighting words, spoken words which would have a tendency to cause acts of violence by the ...
who played two seasons with the
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...
of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...
(NFL). He played
college football
College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
at
Ricks College
Ricks may refer to:
People
* Andre Ricks (born 1996), American basketball player
* Bob Ricks (21st century), American police chief
* Christopher Ricks (born 1933), British literary critic and scholar
* Desmond Ricks, American football player
* ...
and the
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...
. Portilla was also a member of the
Los Angeles Xtreme
The Los Angeles Xtreme was a professional American football team based in Los Angeles, California. The team was a member of the original version of the XFL (2001), XFL, begun by Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment and by NBC, a major ...
of the
XFL.
Early life
Portilla was born on September 11, 1972, in
Zaragoza, Mexico, and moved to the
Houston, Texas
Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...
, area when he was six years old. He played
high school football
High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...
at
MacArthur High School in
East Aldine, Texas and was an all-district selection.
College career
Portilla first played
college football
College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
for the Ricks Vikings of
Ricks College
Ricks may refer to:
People
* Andre Ricks (born 1996), American basketball player
* Bob Ricks (21st century), American police chief
* Christopher Ricks (born 1933), British literary critic and scholar
* Desmond Ricks, American football player
* ...
. The team only lost one game in his two years there.
He then served in a
Mormon missionary
Missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)—often referred to as Mormon missionaries—are volunteer representatives of the church who engage variously in proselytizing, church service, humanitarian aid, and ...
trip from 1994 to 1995.
Portilla transferred to play for the
Arizona Wildcats
The Arizona Wildcats are the sport, athletic teams that represent the University of Arizona, located in Tucson, Arizona, Tucson. The Wildcats compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I (NCAA Divis ...
of the
University of Arizona
The University of Arizona (Arizona, U of A, UArizona, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Tucson, Arizona, United States. Founded in 1885 by the 13th Arizona Territorial Legislature, it ...
from 1996 to 1997. He was a two-year starter for the Wildcats, earning 1st Team
Pac-10
The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I level for all sports, and its football teams compete in the Football Bowl ...
All-Academic his senior year in 1997.
He was also named to the
Hula Bowl
The Hula Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game held annually, usually in January. From inception through the 2021 playing, it was held in Hawaii; since the 2022 edition, it has been played in Orlando, Florida.
The game was first s ...
.
Professional career
Portilla signed with the
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...
in 1998 after going undrafted in the
1998 NFL draft
The 1998 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 18–19, 1998, at the Theater at M ...
.
He played in all sixteen regular season games and three post season games, including the
NFC Championship Game
The NFC Championship Game is the annual championship game of the National Football Conference (NFC) and one of the two semifinal National Football League playoffs, playoff games of the National Football League (NFL), the largest professional Ame ...
and
Super Bowl XXXIII
Super Bowl XXXIII was an American football game played between the American Football Conference (AFC) champion and defending Super Bowl XXXII champion 1998 Denver Broncos season, Denver Broncos and the National Football Conference (NFC) champion ...
, during his rookie season. He played in four games for the Falcons in 1999. Portilla was released by the Falcons before the start of the
2000 season.
Portilla played for the
Los Angeles Xtreme
The Los Angeles Xtreme was a professional American football team based in Los Angeles, California. The team was a member of the original version of the XFL (2001), XFL, begun by Vince McMahon of World Wrestling Entertainment and by NBC, a major ...
of the XFL in 2001, winning the
Million Dollar Game.
References
External links
Stats Crew profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Portilla, Jose
Living people
1972 births
American football offensive tackles
Mexican players of American football
Ricks Vikings football players
Arizona Wildcats football players
Atlanta Falcons players
Los Angeles Xtreme players
Mexican expatriates in the United States
Sportspeople from Coahuila
Players of American football from Harris County, Texas
MacArthur High School (Harris County, Texas) alumni