Friendship leads Buhach Colony’s Alcazar to Nebraska college

Sometimes, it pays to have good friends.

Buhach Colony High School senior Jace Alcazar can thank his friend across town, Noah Torres, a senior at Atwater High, for helping him land a football scholarship to Concordia University of Nebraska.

Torres took a recent visit to the campus and signed his letter of intent on National Signing Day last week. Torres gave Alcazar a number to contact Concordia offensive coordinator Curran White. Alcazar reached out to White and eventually landed a scholarship himself, which he accepted last week.

“Noah told me all about it,” Alcazar said. “He went on a recruiting trip and told me about the small-campus vibe and the fitness center. It felt good to pick Noah’s brain a bit.”

Torres brought up Alcazar’s name while meeting with the Concordia coaches.

“I just gave him a heads up and told him about Jace and how he’s a talented player, hard worker, a leader and great player,” Torres said. “The coach was pretty excited. He said he was always looking for talent in hidden areas.”

Alcazar became the fifth area football player to sign with the Nebraska school in just over a week. He’ll join Torres, Nathaniel Gilmore (Atwater), Alex Gutierrez (Chowchilla) and Gary Nieuwkoop (Chowchilla).

“I think it’s good that a few people from an under-recruited area like the Central Valley are all going there,” Alcazar said. “For a school to reach out to all of us like that, it’s always good.”

Alcazar played tight end and outside linebacker for the Thunder. He’ll play outside linebacker at Concordia.

The Buhach Colony senior was happy for the opportunity so late in the recruiting season.

“I wasn’t committed anywhere, and my ultimate focus was on the junior college route,” Alcazar said. “This late offer opened everything up for me. It took a while for the admission process to get finalized. Head coach (Vance) Winter actually called me on the night of signing day to let me know it was good to go.”

After playing against each other all through high school, Alcazar and Torres will play together in college.

“He’s one of my best friends,” Torres said. “He has been for a long time, and playing together in college has always been a dream of ours.”

Herrera headed to Humboldt – Los Banos star Adam Herrera is headed to Humboldt State after signing his letter of intent Tuesday. Herrera visited the campus during the season and was on hand for a home football game. He took his official visit Jan. 30.

“When I made my visit, the thing I noticed was the people really welcomed me,” Herrera said. “I went to a game, and the atmosphere was amazing.”

Herrera played quarterback and defensive back for the Tigers. Humboldt recruited Herrera as a safety.

“I feel like I can perfect playing one position if I need to,” Herrera said. “If they want me to play on both sides of the ball, I’m willing to do that, too. I love having the ball in my hands, but I’ve always seen myself playing defense in college.”

Los Banos teammate David Walker signed with Snow College, which is a community college in Ephraim, Utah.

CCC wrestling Thursday at Atwater – The wrestling postseason begins Thursday as the Central California Conference Championships will be held at Atwater High. The tournament starts at 11 a.m. The finals should start around 5 p.m.

The goal is to advance to next week’s Sac-Joaquin Section Division I-A Tournament at Elk Grove High. The top four from each division advance out of the CCC.

Buhach Colony clinched a share of the conference championship by going 5-0 in dual meets. The Thunder can clinch the outright title by winning the tournament today.

This story was originally published February 10, 2016 at 5:42 PM with the headline "Friendship leads Buhach Colony’s Alcazar to Nebraska college."