CJS Press Box

While growing up in Indio, California, Juan Lua was one of the millions of young kids dreaming of an NFL career. No matter that the numbers said he had little to no chance. Playing on the college level is difficult enough, and of those players talented enough to make it that far, less than 2% get drafted. Plus, Lua weighed less than 120 pounds when he started high school. In other words, he was an underdog. “I was that delusional kid that never gave that dream up,” said Lua. 

Now comfortably into his 20s, he’s still chasing it. While Lua hasn’t reached the NFL yet, he’s enjoyed a journeyman’s pro career so far, as football has bounced him around the world and given him experiences that many of his contemporaries—seated comfortably, and often miserably, behind desks in their first corporate jobs—could only daydream about. Still, Lua, a former UMass standout now playing for the Osos of Monterrey, a team in the LFA Mexico, thinks the sacrifices, like financial stability, are worth it to keep his pro football dreams alive. 

“It’s a job that so many other people want. It’s like — you get to play a kids game as an adult and get paid for it,” said Lua, 24.  

Lua is from Indio, a city east of Palm Desert in southern California with extremely hot summers and, as the “desert” name implies, very little annual rainfall. Palm Springs, a nostalgic resort town, sits to the west, with Coachella Valley and Joshua Tree National Park nestled in the east. Indio High School hugs the shadows of these tourist destinations, and is home to a football program that has had a surprising number of successful alumni.

One of those alumni is Lua’s cousin, Oscar Lua, who at one time played for the New England Patriots.

“Growing up, it was one of those things where I basically had a role model that I was close to that I saw make it to a high level,” said Lua. “Early on, I knew that it was possible. 

He started high school standing 5-foot-7, and weighing 118 pounds. Not the ideal size for tackling athletes twice his size. His position as a defensive back makes him the first line of defense against the pass, and the last line of protection on running plays. In other words, being a defensive back is one of the most demanding roles to master.

Lua’s parents were aware of the risks associated with football. But when they asked their son “what do you want to do when you grow up?”, he always responded with “a football player.” So they stayed supportive throughout — especially during COVID-19 when football was one of the first contact sports to be temporarily suspended. 

At the time, Lua was struggling with a poor GPA, which made him ineligible for certain football scholarships. His options were to either enter a football program on his own dollar as a preferred walk-on, or to get an associate degree while doing concurrent enrollment at a junior college. Lua took the latter, and played his first season at College of the Desert near his hometown during the shutdown. 

This period of time produced anxiety for most student-athletes across the country. With football, and travel, still largely shut down, scouts couldn’t make their usual recruiting visits to schools. Still, Lua wasn’t shaken, and continued to train from home.

“Luckily, I was able to lift weights and hang out with my family, which brought us a lot closer. I don’t think I was as focused on football in my life because I had nothing to do but that. It was just: workout, go home, lock yourself down,” said Lua. 

Lua’s strength and skills progressed, prompting him to transfer from his low-visibility college to Saddleback College in Vallejo, which sat close to the coast of Laguna Beach. Lua earned All-League Honors and started to receive the scholarship offers that had previously eluded him. He now stood at exactly 6 feet and weighed 190 pounds. Sioux Falls, Missouri State and Moorhead State offered from the midwest; Rice University called from the south, and UMass Amherst, and UConn offered from the east. After going from few options in high school to a plethora in college, Lua eventually chose UMass Amherst in the rolling hills of Western Massachusetts. 

“UMass was the first one that really showed a very sincere and genuine interest in me,” said Lua. During his junior year, after a tough season, Lua was considering a life beyond football. He could finish up his business degree and move to Boston for a job in finance. 

But then a teammate got injured. So he’d have to step up during his senior year.

During the 2023 season, Lua led UMass in interceptions and tied for the team lead in pass breakups. He was recognized as one of the top players among independent college football teams, earning second-team honors on both defense and special teams by the College Football Network. 

“All that basically turned me into a pro prospect,” said Lua. 

He was invited to the The Dream Bowl; an annual college football all-star game in Texas that showcases the country’s best players. It was there that Lua met a scout from the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League (CFL), who invited him to an open workout in Tampa Bay, Florida, only two days prior to his UMass pro day. In a last minute decision, Lua flew to Florida. 

There, he ran 40-yards in 4.37 seconds, impressing scouts. The Blue Bombers offered him a $74,000 contract. Lua also received some attention from the New England Patriots, where his cousin had played, but his contract with the Bombers was already signed.

With CFL teams only permitted to carry 23 Americans, the competition for roster spots was intense. The Blue Bombers released Lua after a few months. After his time in Winnipeg, however, Lua quickly found more roster spots on the global stage in Germany for the Düsseldorf Panthers (GFL), and then the Cologne Centurions (ELF). In Germany, Lua got to truly live in the moment and see parts of the world more intimately than if he were just going there on vacation. He received meal stipends, plane tickets, housing, and a phone plan. In Cologne, Lua was given 1,500 euros a month, which was enough to sustain him while he travelled and performed. 

But, his NFL goals were slipping and changing over time. In 2026, Lua returned to America and looked for a stable job to sustain him between football contracts. “If you tell an employer ‘I’ve been playing for this long, the big question is ‘are you done’…Obviously, there have been times where I have to lie to get a job, but if not I wouldn’t get hired, so it’s the tricky part of the job market,” said Lua. 

He took up a coaching position with the Indio High School football team and a substitute teacher gig at Indio High School where he grew up. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling of wanting to keep playing.

So in January 2026, Lua signed a contract with the OsosLFA league in Monterrey, Mexico. 

“I’m now pursuing this new avenue in my life where I feel like I’m doing something bigger than myself. I’m motivating kids that have the same background as me,” said Lua. 

Inspired by his time teaching and coaching, Lua applied for a master’s program at the Alder Graduate School of Education to receive a Master’s in Education. 

Although he isn’t burnt out from playing professionally just yet, injuries are a constant threat to a player’s professional career, regardless of age. Last year, Lua suffered a torn oblique, and a slight rib fracture. “Things like that make it harder each season,” said Lua. 

After playing for three collegiate teams and four international teams by the time he turned 24, his football journey has an end date. Maybe. 

“At least I plan it to be my last season,” said Lua. “It could change but I don’t know!”