Here was Grayson Rigdon, arguably the greatest six-man football player of all time, getting his ass chewed out.

He thought he hit the hole hard after taking the handoff – at least, as hard as he could, considering it was his fourth rep in a row in 110-degree heat. Columbus head coach Matt Schobel thought Rigdon had more in the tank.

“Hit the hole, man,” Schobel screamed. “You know what, just get out of here.”

Rigdon’s tired mind didn’t know what to think or how to react. No one had ever ordered him to leave the lineup. The idea was ludicrous, and Rigdon smirked. Wrong choice.

“Take your butt back there and do up-downs,” Schobel said.

Practice continued, but the Columbus players kept stealing glances at their newest teammate off to the side, chopping his feet, toes burning, dropping to the turf, hands burning. Rigdon has only practiced with Columbus for a month, but his reputation preceded him.

“It’s kind of hard to not know who he is,” Columbus quarterback Adam Schobel said. “He’s breaking every record in six-man.”

Rigdon is 45–0 in his high school career and can’t even remember the last time he lost a football game (his best guess is sixth grade). He’s a three-time Six-Man Player of the Year who’s won three state championships and, improbably, four of the game’s MVP awards. He earned offensive and defensive MVP as a freshman at Strawn and offensive honors the following two seasons at Benjamin. His 17 touchdowns in three state championship games is a state record. Coincidentally, 17 is also the number of times he was tackled the entire 2023 season.

He dropped to the turf more times in that minute of up-downs than he did all last year. Coach Schobel sidled up to his new running back when he finished. Rigdon had passed his first test. 

“It’s your first time getting jumped, huh,” Schobel said.
Rigdon nodded.

“Get used to it,” Schobel said.

This is 11-man football baptism by fire, and Grayson Rigdon wants all the smoke.

He was the star of stars in six-man football, a player so valuable his only break came from the walk between his touchdown to the kickoff coverage team. Now that his father, Jamie, an assistant coach on five state title teams over stints at Richland Springs, Strawn and Benjamin, is on staff at Columbus, Grayson is instead a key cog in a well-oiled machine.

The Cardinals were already a state title contender before Rigdon’s arrival, the preseason No.2-ranked team in Class 3A DI according to the 2024 Dave Campbell’s Texas Football magazine. Quarterback Adam Schobel, a TCU commit, has thrown for more than 7,600 yards and 94 touchdowns in his high school career, while cousin John is a two-time District Defensive MVP also committed to the Horned Frogs. Add in defensive end Anthony Shorter, a Sam Houston commit, and two-way players Brody Vinklarek and Braylon Fisher, and Columbus has the talent to play for its first state championship in program history.

By coaches’ accounts, Rigdon is content with the new role and has mixed seamlessly into 11-man football. The biggest adjustment is off the field.

Columbus High School has 487 students. Benjamin, Texas, where Rigdon moved from, had 220 residents. Rigdon is used to living in a town with one gas station. Now, he passes by actual restaurants on his way to campus. His favorite is Schobels’ Restaurant, which has been owned and operated by the Schobel family since 1979. He gets the chicken and cheese quesadillas, but Adam, who used to wait tables there, insists he try the chicken fried steak. The quarterback has lived in Columbus his entire life and has been an ambassador for Rigdon.

“I really don’t know what life is elsewhere in big cities and whatnot,” Adam said. “It’s a good community. Everybody knows everybody. It’s how you’d expect it in a small town.”

“This place is huge,” Rigdon said.

Coach Schobel said the Columbus players have opened their arms to Rigdon, and Rigdon has reciprocated by asking guys to lift, run and watch extra film with him after practice.

“They’re good kids, and they’ve been very welcoming to him,” Schobel said. “At the same time, he’s been open to how we do it and he’s adapted great. He works his butt off, and the other kids see that. He’s not coming in trying to act like he doesn’t have to do the work.”

Rigdon will do those up-downs gladly if it gives him the slightest edge on Friday night. Because, in his mind, he still has everything to prove.

With each passing season in six-man football, he carved a near-mythical figure for himself. He’s putting that reputation on the line for the Columbus team, Texas high school football fans and college programs who’ve overlooked him. At 5-foot-10, 185 pounds, many wonder how his skill set will fare in 3A football, much less college ball. He holds three scholarship offers from Air Force, FCS Tennessee State and Murray State.

“It’s been a really difficult ride,” Rigdon said. “Seeing four stars that I’ve absolutely cooked at camps and ran over and did all these things, they’re getting offered by all these big schools and I’m just kind of being left behind. But I know God has a plan for me, so I’m going to trust it.”

For the last three seasons, Rigdon’s career has swirled with "What ifs?" and this fall is when he answers them all.

But Rigdon’s not the first member of his family to jump from six-man to 11-man football. The youngest of six brothers, he watched Matthew Rigdon earn six-man player of the year in 2019 and win a state championship at Richland Springs with brother Griff. When the family moved to Class 2A Price Carlisle the following year, Matthew and Griff earned all-district nods while Grayson starred on the eighth-grade team as a quarterback, linebacker and safety.

“They were all good athletes,” Rocky Baker, who coached that Price Carlisle team, said. “But (Grayson), he’s the one. He’s special.”

When eighth grade practice ended and the varsity started, the youngest Rigdon brother would trek to the other field, tie a parachute around his waist, run for 30 minutes, then lift weights after. While Grayson dominated on the middle school team, he approached Baker and asked if he could wear the No. 1 jersey, a number unofficially retired for Baker’s son, Gunner, a star athlete. When Baker gave the OK, Grayson said he wanted to call Gunner on the phone to ask his permission first.

The last head coach to watch Rigdon play 11-man football doesn’t have any doubt in his mind about what will happen in 2024.

“I have 31 years of experience, and I’m going to put all 31 years on the line and say, he ain’t going to be slowed down," Baker said.

All the accolades haven’t drained his work ethic. They’ve fueled it. Schobel gives the team Saturdays off during fall camp, but he came up to the school on a weekend to find Rigdon running by himself on the field. He told Rigdon to relax, to save his body. Except in Rigdon’s mind, there is no room to relax. 

He became a dad this offseason to a little girl named Emersyn. Football came easy, but fatherhood is hard. Rigdon spent the summer tending to a crying alarm clock at 2:00 a.m., before his actual alarm clock rang for training time three hours later. Emersyn lives in Strawn, where her father’s legend first began, with Rigdon’s girlfriend, Emily. 

When he began his high school career he simply hated losing. Now he realizes how much he has to gain this senior season.

“I want to set my family up,” Rigdon said. “I don’t want to just show people I can play 3A football. I want to show people I can play college football and play in the league one day.”

That's why Rigdon will do what's hard - the up-downs, the Saturday runs and the five hours away from his daughter. Because leaving high school with "What ifs?" would be harder.

Besides, Emersyn will still see him play this season.

“We’ve planned a couple games that she’ll be at,” Rigdon said. “Hopefully the first game, so she can watch me get in the end zone for the first time.”

Then, the signature smirk slips out. Only this time, no one will make him do up-downs for it.

“Hopefully (it’s) a closer drive for them at AT&T later on in the year,” Rigdon said.

A correction was made on Aug. 29: John Schobel is Adam's cousin, not brother as originally stated. DCTF regrets this error.