Helvetic Guards sign running back Silas Nacita

Remarkable life and football career

The Bakersfield, California native was not recruited by any college after his high school career ended, so the running back moved to Waco, Texas to become a walk-on at Baylor University. After not playing at all in 2013, the once homeless Nacita showed flashes of potential in 2014, when he rushed for over 100 yards and two touchdowns against Northwestern State. During his sophomore season, the California native saw playing time in 13 games and rushed for a total of 191 yards and three touchdowns, en route to a Big 12 championship and a New Year’s Six appearance.

But the Cinderella story ended by a twist of fate. Right before his 2015 junior season, Nacita was ruled officially and permanently ineligible by the NCAA, for receiving improper benefits like food and housing by living with the family of a friend.

Career in Europe

Silas Nacita scored five touchdowns in the Austrian Bowl. © Alexander Forst

Being unable to further pursue his dreams of playing college football, Nacita made his way to Germany to play for the Marburg Mercenaries. The former Baylor Bear was a Swiss army knife for the Mercenaries offense, as he amassed 2588 yards and 28 touchdowns, including 515 passing yards and 5 passing touchdowns. Additionally, Nacita returned kicks and punts for almost 1000 yards and one touchdown.

Impressive performances throughout his career

Playing for the Frankfurt Galaxy in 2017, Nacita had an impressive season with 2252 allpurpose yards and 22 total touchdowns, before coming back to Marburg for the 2018 season. After a 2018 campaign with 3.507 all-purpose yards and an astonishing 33 touchdowns, the Division I walk-on left Germany and joined his Baylor head coach Art Briles at Guelfi Firenze in Italy. In his only season in the Italian Football League, Nacita led his team in rushing and receiving with 1.590 yards and 24 touchdowns, while throwing for 534 yards and eight TDs.

After retiring from football for three years, the American started a surprising comeback in 2022 for the Danube Dragons in the AFL playoffs. In only two games, Nacita had 376 yards and eight touchdowns. His impressive Austrian Bowl performance earned him the Finals MVP.

Now the former Division I player is returning to football fulltime.

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"Electrifying playmaker"

Silas Nacita is ambitions for his return to Europe: "I want to compete and win, of course, but more importantly I love the people of Europe. I love learning about their lives and their culture. I especially love the players who share my love for American Football. I want to see them succeed and flourish. My overall goal on the field and off the field is to help grow the sport and create more opportunities for others."

Helvetic Guards head coach Norm Chow has high praise for his newest player: "Silas is an electrifying playmaker. He can play nearly every position on offense and will create match up nightmares for the opposing defense.He's experienced in Europe and dominated everywhere he has played. We're extremely proud to be able to convince a guy like Silas to come and be part of the Guards."