When Jacksonville Jaguars tight end Sammis Reyes applied to the NFL through the International Player Pathway Program in 2021, he knew relatively little about the league.
He was so oblivious, in fact, that after he had a conversation with New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick back at his hotel after his pro day, he was none the wiser.
“We go up the elevator, and coach Belichick jumps on the elevator with us,” Reyes told NFL Network’s Will Selva. “We had a full-out conversation for whatever, 15 seconds. Then he gets off on the same floor, and we’re walking the same way. …We get done and (one of the guys from the IPPP program) asks me, ‘Do you know who that was?’ And I’m like, ‘No, I have no idea.’ [He said], ‘That’s Bill Belichick. That’s the head coach for the Patriots.’ Did I say the right thing? I was so nervous. I thought it was a random guy in the elevator asking questions. I had no idea.”
The first person from Chile to play in the NFL, Reyes was a basketball player by trade. He played for the Chile national team and collegiately in the U.S. at both Palm Beach State College and Tulane.
