Where are they now? Former Texas Tech tight end Jace Amaro gives back

We may never see a player like Jace Amaro again in Lubbock. After all, 6-foot-5, 260-pound tight ends who can run like wide receivers typically don't pop up out of the West Texas cotton fields.

One did arrive via San Antonio, though, in the class of 2011. That year, Amaro was rated the No. 6 tight end in the nation and the No. 17 overall player in Texas by 247Sports.com. He was also a USA Today first-team All-American as a high school senior.

Landing Amaro was one of the few successful moves former Texas Tech head coach Tommy Tuberville made during his brief stint on the South Plains. However, it wouldn't be until after Tuberville skipped town that Amaro would blossom into a dominant force for the Red Raiders.

As a true freshman, he was used sparingly catching seven passes for 57 yards and two touchdowns. Then, as a sophomore, he played in only seven games due to a lacerated spleen suffered ironically in what was his career-defining game, one in which he caught five passes for 156 yards and a TD against No. 4 West Virginia in Lubbock. That year, he caught only 25 balls for 409 yards and four touchdowns.

In 2013, under new head coach Kliff Kingsbury, Amaro broke out in a big way. Playing in all 13 games, he caught 106 passes for 1,352 yards and seven touchdowns. That was the best season any Red Raider tight end has ever produced and one of the best any Texas Tech pass catcher has put forth. For his efforts, he was named a Unanimous All-American.

Amaro's final stats at Tech show 138 catches for 1,818 yards and 13 TDs. Unfortunately for Texas Tech fans, Amaro would skip his senior year and head to the NFL following the 2013 season. However, life at the next level was not kind to the Red Raider great.

After being selected No. 49 overall by the New York Jets in the 2014 NFL Draft, there were massive expectations on Amaro. As a rookie, he was solid with 38 receptions for 345 receiving yards and two touchdowns in 14 games.

However, in 2015 he suffered a torn labrum in the preseason. Requiring surgery, that injury caused him to miss the entire season. After that, Amaro was never able to get back on track.

He was waived by the Jets in 2016 just prior to the season opener. He would quickly ink a deal with the Tennessee Titans before the season started, though. That year, he would play in only three games catching three passes for 59 yards. Then, before the 2017 season, the Titans cut him.

He would never appear in another NFL game despite getting a look from the Kansas City Chiefs. He would get drafted in the 2020 XFL Draft but he never played a game in that league.

What is Jace Amaro doing now that his football career is over?

Now 31 years old, Amaro has turned from playing football to giving back to his community. He's the Executive Director and Founder of the CATCH22 Foundation.

According to his foundation's website, the CATCH22 Foundation's mission statement is to "serve the general welfare by instilling joy and hope into the lives of children who are impacted by health and socioeconomic disadvantages."

Supported completely by public donations and fundraising endeavors, the CATCH22 Foundation invests in children with medical needs as well as those who live in financially unstable homes. Based in San Antonio, the foundation was also founded and is run by Amaro's two sisters, Manae Amaro and Madison Robbins.

Again, according to the CATCH22 website, "With the help of our community, our goal is to provide fund distribution to hospitals, homeless shelters, and other entities that aim to benefit the lives of children. Through CATCH22’s efforts, we want to reveal the unwavering and reckless love Christ has for all of us and to truly be relentless in how we serve our community."

Amaro will forever be a Texas Tech great. He was a unicorn whose physical gifts were special and rare. However, what he is doing with his life now, dwarfs any accomplishment he achieved on the gridiron.

“I don’t think there is any word that can ever describe the feeling brewing inside my heart - a light that is everglowing," he says on the CATCH22 website. "I created the CATCH22 Foundation to show each child and each family just how much they’ve inspired me, pushed me, motivated me, moved me, and transformed me into a man on fire. I want to do everything I can to give every child a better chance at accomplishing the dream they desire in this precious life.”