SBCC offensive lineman Nathan Beveridge signed a national letter-of-intent on Wednesday to play football for Houston Baptist University.
Beveridge, a former Dos Pueblos High star, had a successful freshman campaign at right tackle for the Vaqueros. He was trying to decide between Houston Baptist and North Alabama and made his final decision on Wednesday morning.
"I signed with Houston Baptist because they showed me the most love throughout this process," said Beverage, a 6-4, 300-pounder. "They've been recruiting me the longest and have been the most determined about it. North Alabama has a great group of guys but it just wasn't the right fit because I wasn't their first choice."
Houston Baptist is an NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) school that competes in the Southland Conference against schools like McNeese State, Southeastern Louisiana and Stephen F. Austin. The Huskies also played SMU this season, losing 63-27.
Beveridge appreciates the coaching he got from SBCC line coach Matt Escobar.
"When I got out of DP, my biggest problem was staying low," Beveridge stated. "Coming here with great coaches like Escobar, he constantly had us working the chutes and extra little footwork drills. It's a night and day difference compared to when I came out of high school."
Beveridge is majoring in Computer Engineering.
"My No. 1 goal is to go pro and play in the NFL," he said. "If that doesn't work out, I'll take my engineering degree and go into energy or solar energy or weapons manufacturing for the military."
SBCC head coach Craig Moropoulos says Beveridge has special talents.
"He's very quick out of his stance and even though he talked about his pad leverage, he still had good pad leverage for a big high school lineman," said Moropoulos. "You have to be able to bend and stay low and that was something we wanted to try and prioritize.
"The No. 1 thing about him has nothing to do with leveridge or power, it's all about character and integrity. When Nate Beveridge says he's going to do something, he does it. That ranges from coming to practice on time to giving all the effort he can. And that's what I told Houston Baptist.
"They asked if I'd jump on the table for this guy and I said, 'absolutely.' They look at video and look at his transcripts. What they ask me is what kind of guy is he on the practice field, what kind of guy is he in the weight room, what kind of guy is he in the locker room and around his peers?
"I would absolutely jump on the table for him. To be perfectly honest, I wish he was staying here but I'm proud of him for the decision he made. He's a special one."
