The Spartanburg-Cherokee-Union tri-county area is blessed with some immense home grown talent on the high school gridiron. In particular, we have some of the top talents at the running back position in the entire state of South Carolina. With players such future division 1 talents as Jaylen McGill, Jaiden McDowell, and Trenton Lynch, there is plenty of eye-popping stats and highlight reel types of plays. But, there is one local junior 2-sport star whose faith-driven comeback story is one that makes him difficult to root against.
David Segarra III, who we all know in more familiarity as ‘Tre’, is a junior tailback at James F Byrnes High School. You would not know it from his abilities on the football field, but Tre, who is of Puerto Rican descent, actually grew up playing the other football (yes. Soccer..), a sport he also excels at and plays as a Striker for the Rebels during the Spring. For perspective, Tre has played in 31 matches over his first 2 seasons with 27 goals and 8 assists.
“I have been playing soccer since I could walk”, said Segarra. “When I was young, I thought I would end up being a soccer player. I did not end up playing football until 4th or 5th grade, but it was in middle school where I fell in love with the game.”
His love for football has certainly made itself evident. Tre burst onto the scene as a Freshman, playing in all 12 varsity games. Over the course of the 2023 season, Segarra toted the rock 166 times for over a thousand rushing yards (1,115), averaging nearly 7 yards per carry and 93 yards per game to go with 11 touchdowns. He also caught 23 passes that year for 278 yards and 4 scores.
With such a great first season, he was poised to be even better in year 2. Until the injury bug struck him hard just before the start of the season, leaving him sidelined. Initially, it was thought he would not see the field in 2024. But, Tre showed great drive and work ethic to shorten the time he was out to just a little over 2 months.
“The injury was one of the most difficult and challenging times I have ever been through so far”, Segarra recalled. “But what kept me going through it and still today motivates me to be my best both inside and outside of the game of football, was my ever-growing relationship with Jesus Christ. Just knowing that He is watching over me gave me the extra push to work harder and come back even better than I was before.”
On November 1st, 2024, Tre made his triumphant return to the Gridiron and immediately made an impact, essentially single-handedly beating Boiling Springs on the road and making his faith-inspired drive to come back better evident. His first touch that night went for a 60+ yard run and set up the first of his 3 touchdowns of the night, in the end tallying 24 carries for 147 yards. He would go on to see action in 4 games last season, accumulating 259 yards on 49 rushes.
Now in his 3rd season, Segarra has shown even more potential to be the MVP for this Byrnes team, already having been a key contributor to their season-opening 30-10 victory over TL Hanna to christen the new Nixon Field. In that contest, he racked up 126 yards on 12 carries with a pair of TDs.
On the gridiron and the soccer pitch, Tre has a reputation for being a fierce competitor. But, off the field, he is known for being humble and having a desire to do what he can to help others – both traits he attributes to his father.
“I live with both of my parents, and by far they are my biggest influencers”, said Segarra. “My dad has been especially impactful. He has been teaching me a lot lately about how you should conduct yourself so that you can be in a position to lead others.”
His dad has always been one of his biggest supporters – often seen standing in the back of the endzone in the old Nixon Field cheering him on. As a matter of fact, that support is one of Tre’s most fond sports memories.
“I scored a touchdown in the game against Spartanburg my Freshman year”, Tre reminisced. I went up to hug my dad, who was in the endzone, and that moment will always stick with me as my favorite, with scoring the first touchdown in the new Nixon Field this past Friday as a close 2nd.”
It is easy to see why Tre would also be fond of forever etching his name in the record books as the first to score a TD in the new stadium. Byrnes fans have a reputation for being among the most passionate in the state, and that is one of the things he loves most about suiting up for the Rebels on Friday nights.
“I love how big football is in the community at Byrnes. It is amazing to get to compete with my team mates in front of all our passionate fans against other athletes my age. In general, being able to compete against other young athletes my age is my favorite part of playing sports”, said Segarra.
Despite only being a junior, Tre is already looking for ways that he can use his leadership abilities and his influence to help others when his time playing football is done – not that that could be anytime soon.
“As of now, I have 19 college offers, many from division 1 schools in the SEC, ACC, and Group of Five. I also have a 4.9 GPA. So, God willing, the next step for me will be to play college football. After that, maybe even go to the League. But, for life after football, I have already looked into Real Estate and other things where I can use my knowledge and reputation to help people and better their lives”, Segarra stated with a sense of pride in his athletic accomplishments but all the same his trademark humility that acknowledges there is life beyond football and that there are more important things than sports to him.
Tre does have a ton of offers. To name a few – Clemson, South Carolina, Georgia, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Vanderbilt, Duke, Stanford, Syracuse, Maryland, Virginia Tech, Central Florida, East Carolina, and Coastal Carolina are all names currently in the hat for Segarra to choose from.
Being one for trying to help people as much as he can, Tre is not one ton shy away from giving advice. So, since I always like to put a bow on these kinds of stories with this, I asked him to leave some of his best advice for aspiring young athletes. This is what he said – and it is wisdom beyond his years with advice that even adults can benefit from.
“Be humble enough to accept God’s timing. Not everything will work out for you the way you want. But if you trust that He will take care of you, then you will look back and be grateful. Even for the tribulations that molded you.”
You can catch Tre and the Rebs in action this Friday night at the beautiful new Nixon Field as they host the Irmo Yellow Jackets. Kickoff is set for 7:30 PM.
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