Orthodox Jew Sam Salz changing Texas A&M football program
COLLEGE STATION, Texas (BVM) – Texas A&M wide receiver Sam Salz has as unique a journey to the college football sidelines as any other D-I player. Salz never played organized football prior to his time in College Station and, as an Orthodox Jew, didn’t have anybody else from the religion to look up to in the sport. However, instead of allowing that to deter him, Salz let the idea of becoming the only active D-I Orthodox Jew football player motivate him instead.
“I always had this feeling that I had to do it; it was always in the back of my head,” Salz said. “In addition to that, I figured out that I could be the first Orthodox Jew to play college football, having a role doing that could inspire a lot of people to, not only staying true to Judaism and the values, but if you really work hard you can achieve anything.”
As an active member in @ChabadTAMU, Sam Salz '25 is the only Shabbat-observant football player in Division I football.
You'll see him on the @AggieFootball sidelines wearing his Kippah with the goal of being a role model for young Jewish kids!@Chabad: https://t.co/JdBRkFhlIm pic.twitter.com/4WjjgLTTda
— Texas A&M University (@TAMU) December 3, 2022
A devoted follower, Salz attended Kohelet Yeshiva High School in his hometown of Philadelphia. While Salz was an athlete, participating in numerous sports like basketball, floor hockey, soccer and tennis, the school had no football team and he was unable to find a club team to get film of himself playing.
Instead, Salz took a different route to walk onto the Aggies program. He did drills, hired a football position trainer and even worked out in a lot across from the Texas A&M practice facility during the team’s training. While he wasn’t able to participate in the walk-on tryouts, Salz was contacted by the team who offered him a spot on the team which he graciously accepted.
“I feel very honored to be that representative and be in the spot that I’m in,” Salz said. “I’m very thankful for the opportunity I’m in and I really want to succeed in this space. That includes me playing, obviously not on Shabbat, but proving that you really can, once you make it to the team, you can make it to the field.”
@samsssssss Keep faith and keep working… #aggies #aggiefootball #jew #jewishtiktok #football #collegefootball #gigem #aggietiktok #judaism #jews #jewsoftiktok #motivation #motivational #motivate #texasaggies #texasam #training #fyp #win #sec #secwest
♬ Don’t Stop Until You Find a Way (Motivational Speech) – Fearless Motivation
As an Orthodox Jew, Salz has a number of religious practices that impact his time as a student-athlete, none more significant than not being able to do work during Shabbat, which occurs each week from sunset on Friday to sunset on Saturday. This means, in the world of college football where games usually occur on Saturdays, Salz only participates in games when the Aggies play at night.
He also wears a Kippah, a brimless cap worn by Jewish males to fulfill the customary requirement that the head be covered as well as the No. 39 which represents the 39 types of work that are forbidden on Shabbat.
While Salz’s story is a rarity in college athletics, particularly in football, he is not alone in his journey. Basketball players such as Towson alum Tamir Goodman and more recently G-League player Ryan Turell each made it to higher levels in their sports while practicing Orthodox Judaism. Salz sees these success stories as a reason for optimism for Orthodox Jewish schools to become more supportive in helping student-athletes to achieve their collegiate dreams.
“Many of the time growing up I don’t think it was always viewed as a possibility,” Salz said. “Many times there’s underrepresentation on the side of having a functional athletic program in terms of sending people to college. … Within the scope of Jewish schools I believe the tide is turning. People are realizing you can be Orthodox and you can be successful in the sports era.
“I’m sure Title IX and other laws or programs are making it possible for that to be the case because obviously at the end of the day, if you can play you can play. People are becoming more respective and more understanding of religion and certain religious restrictions.”
This respect for religion shows up in the A&M football program as well. In an effort to make the team, Salz, who only eats Kosher foods, put weight on his 5-foot-5, 155-pound frame by eating platefuls of rice and beans. Now, after nearly a year with the team, Salz receives Kosher meals from the program to help him keep up his nutrition while being with the team.
“I’m very, very honored that they were able to accommodate me in such a way,” Salz said. “The coaches understand that I can’t be at certain practices or certain games. I’m even thankful to my teammates who have taken me in and treated me like a brother. It’s more of a gratitude than anything and at the end of the day it’s just incredible.”
G-D ALWAYS RECIPROCATES 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/XLkMj1ITYr
— Sam Salz (@sam_salz) May 4, 2023
Unsurprisingly, Salz’s journey has gained plenty of attention within the Jewish community. This has resulted in Salz making speaking appearances at events, Shabbats and conferences for Jewish teams. One such speaking event sticks in the football player’s mind.
“I stood in the hallway for an hour and a half or two hours after I finished speaking and talked to every person that wanted to come by and I had various different reactions,” Salz said. “I had guys who came up to me with tears in their eyes, I had guys who came up with questions or asked for advice. For me to see that side of people and know I had a chance to affect them, that means everything.”
The lessons that Salz wants people to take away from his journey are twofold.
“I think that it’s a testament to values, it’s sticking true to your values and not giving up on your values,” Salz said. “The other side is working hard, hard work and persistence and perseverance. … If somebody hears my story and goes out and changes the way they live or goes out and does something good and perseveres then maybe I have a chance to change a person’s life. For me that’s everything.”
As the Aggies prepare to kick off their football season on Sept. 2, fans will have to keep an eye out for No. 39 on the gridiron. Though he may not have taken the typical journey of his fellow teammates, perhaps nobody has made a greater impact on the Texas A&M program and college football as a whole than Salz.
