Over the summer, three Fresno State football players with local ties received athletic scholarships for the 2022 season.
Osmar Velez, Jake Boust and Morice Norris were all walk-ons before receiving their scholarships.
Velez was born in Bakersfield and graduated from Wasco High School in 2019. At Wasco, Velez played on both sides of the ball, playing tight end on offense and defensive end on defense. He was team captain and earned league MVP honors.
The Bulldogs’ head coach, Jeff Tedford, first called Velez in 2019 to give him an opportunity to join the team as a walk-on.
Tedford, a former quarterback for the Bulldogs, returned to Fresno State in 2017 and spent three seasons as its head coach. He returned to Fresno State after former head coach Kalen DeBoer left the be head coach for the Washington Huskies.
Now, in Tedford’s first year back, he called Velez again. This time he told him he would be given a scholarship.
“I remember calling my parents. They’ve helped me through a lot. They were really happy. They wanted me to come here and focus on school and football. It helped me a long way,” Velez told BarkBoard.
Boust, a redshirt junior tight end, graduated from Sanger High School in 2019, where he played soccer, basketball, track and football. Boust grew up a huge Bulldogs fan, which was a key factor in why he chose to attend Fresno State after spending two years at Fresno City College.
“It means a lot, especially for my family. Getting my tuition paid for is a big thing for my family to help out my parents and also myself. I was very much looking forward to it,” Boust said in an interview with BarkBoard.
Norris, another Sanger High School graduate, is a redshirt junior and plays defensive back. Norris played basketball and football before he graduated in 2018.
As a senior, Norris led the team in interceptions and also scored the longest touchdown in team history. After high school, Norris spent the 2018 and 2019 seasons at Orange Coast College.
After finding out that he would be receiving the scholarship, Norris made a post on social media with a grateful caption.
“Let God and stay the course. Blessed my mother with great news and $5,000 for her day. The smile she [gives] is the only reason I need,” he posted on his personal Twitter account..
Boust and Norris were teammates during their time with the Sanger Apaches. Their former coach, Jorge Peña, had high praise for both former players and emphasized how hard they worked to get to where they are today.
“What stands out most about Jake and Morice is their unselfishness and work ethic,” Peña told The Collegian. “They wouldn’t be where they are now without those qualities.”
Both of them had long odds to even make it to a Division I school, according to Peña.
“Being D1 football players wasn’t on the horizon for these two when they were seniors in high school, so what they’ve done is very special and says a lot about their perseverance,” he said.
