Belle Munoz has played just about every position there is on the gridiron.

“I’ve played center. I’ve played receiver. I’ve been a safety. I’ve been a middle linebacker,” she said. “I’ve been pretty much everything except [quarterback].”

Munoz, who plays for Texas Fury, a club team, recently committed to play women’s flag football at Siena Heights University in Michigan.

But now, with the help of the NFL’s Houston Texans, Munoz and other young female athletes in the Austin area will have the chance to represent their high schools in the sport.

A spokesperson with the Texans confirmed to KUT News that the team plans to expand its girls’ flag football program to two Austin-area school districts: Round Rock ISD and Pflugerville ISD.

The program was launched by the Texans in 2023 to help “create equitable opportunities for young female athletes in Houston,” the spokesperson wrote to KUT in an email.

Its goal has since expanded to helping make flag football an official Texas high school varsity sport.

Currently, only 14 states recognize girls flag football as an official high school varsity sport, according to the NFL. Several other states, including Texas, have pilot programs to help evaluate the full adoption of girls flag football as a sanctioned sport.

During Sunday’s Super Bowl, the NFL ran a commercial promoting the sanctioning of the sport in all 50 states.

Munoz, a senior at Round Rock High School, said she was initially surprised by the Texans’ news.

“We’ve been — not only [Texas] Fury, but other teams across Texas — trying to get flag football as a UIL sanctioned sport for a while. And so I was really, frankly, surprised,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting flag to be a school sport at all.”

Now that the opportunity is here, Munoz said she’s looking forward to representing her school on the field.

“When I think about flag and representing the school, that’s just really exciting to me,” she said. “It’s an opportunity to really push flag out there and really make it a big sport, especially in schools.”

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Courtesy of the Houston Texans

Munoz will also be joined on the field by a familiar face — her high school assistant softball coach, Ashley Castro.

Castro was recently named as Round Rock High School’s new girls’ flag football coach.

“I think it’s really cool that as a senior (Munoz) gets to do this and represent her school,” Castro said. “I just want other girls to realize this is something that’s never been done before … and realize that this is an excellent opportunity and something that we’re going to need down the line to show UIL that we’re serious about the sport.”

Castro, who plays the sport for a club team herself, said she’s been pushing for this opportunity for years.

“About two years ago, I went to a summer conference … [and] sat in on a session about girls flag football. (The Dallas Cowboys) had started a pilot program in Fort Worth,” she said. “And I was like, ‘I think this would be something that girls in our area would really enjoy and really appreciate. What do we need to do to get on board?'”

So, Castro said, she and other coaches in the district reached out to the Texans.

“When this opportunity arose … I absolutely was ecstatic,” she said. “The Houston Texans have said they will pretty much pay for all the equipment, all the gear, and all of the uniforms. They’re taking care of that 100 percent.”

She said the expectation is that teams in the league will play a four-week regular season in April, and a two week post-season in May.

“I think what you see on TV right now with NFL Flag during the Super Bowl commercials, during playoff commercials … like these girls just want to be a part of something that’s way bigger than than what’s offered right now,” Castro said. “I think it’ll be good for not only for the girls here on campus, but the community as well.”

Other Austin area teams confirmed to participate in the league, include: Westwood High School, McNeil High School, Connally High School, Hendrickson High School, Pflugerville High School and Weiss High School.