When Ricardo Benitez was still in his mother's womb, doctors said he would be born without legs.When he was finally born, he arrived with femur hypoplasia bilateral.

"It's just a big word," Benitez explained in a 2017 ESPN feature,"for saying I don't have femur bones in both of my legs ... it's pretty much just calves. I don't have femurs."

Now standing 4-foot-2 after four years at Plano West Senior High School in Texas, Benitez is still looking up at the world. But he's also fulfilling dreams that began when he first pursued sports at that school, raising money to attend Baylor University, where he's been invited to walk on to the football team as a wide receiver.

"Ricardo's story has already been able to inspire, but imagine the power of his presence on a Division-I football field," Benitez's friend, Camryn Moortgat, wrote on GoFundMe. "Imagine how inspired a kid with a disability will be by seeing Ricardo on that field."

Benitez has been a walking miracle since his birth, as his parents told ESPN in 2017.

"We just decided, you know what, no matter what happens, we are going to take care of this baby," his father said, "because God has given it to us."

And since then, Benitez has been no stranger to the spotlight in his journey on the gridiron.

Deemed a leader of Plano's high school team, he met Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett in the summer of 2016 during a camp for kids with disabilities and was invited to address the Cowboys soon after. Now-retired tight end Jason Witten called Benitez a "powerful" motivator, and Garrett said the young man makes no excuses for his aspiring career.

"The only difference between me and someone else is how I get from point A to point B," Benitez told ESPN. "I pretty much run on my tiptoes. I won't be able to run like everyone else can, but I can still run. And I won't be able to walk like everyone else can, but I can still walk."

Once apparently recruited by Alabama's Nick Saban, Benitez is now set to attend Baylor, having committed to the Bears as a non-scholarship player. His friend Camryn has raised almost $15,000 toward a $20,000 goal to send Benitez to college.