Football: Two OCC players move on

After successful seasons as freshmen last year, Orange Coast College football standouts Matthew Nelson and Alex Losoya will be continuing their athletic and academic careers at the Division I level this fall, Pirates Coach Kevin Emerson has announced.

Nelson, a 6-foot-4, 230-pound tight end out of Los Alamitos High, will play at Utah State.

Losoya, a 6-4, 285-pound offensive lineman out of Mater Dei, will attend Arizona State.

“It’s always our No. 1 goal to get our players to the four-year level and for these two guys, to be able to get there after just one season, says an awful lot about the type of players they are,” Emerson said. “I’m very happy that they were able to spend a season with us and that we helped them get to where they wanted to go.”

Nelson played six games for the Pirates in 2015 and had 17 receptions for 138 yards and a touchdown. After missing the first five games, Nelson came was a steady blocker and a reliable option for the Coast passing game.

Nelson had a season-high five catches for 40 yards against Saddleback. Against rival Golden West, Nelson pulled in a 3-yard touchdown catch with 18 seconds left to put the Pirates ahead for good.

Other teams interested in Nelson included Marshall and Missouri State.

Losoya was a force to be reckoned with up front. His strong play in the trenches helped the Pirates pick up nearly 1,500 yards rushing, while his ability to pass block helped the Pirates rack up more than 2,500 yards through the air.

Losoya also received interest from Coloroado, Missouri, Baylor and Texas Tech.

— From staff reports