Despite a 1-9 record last year, the Lancers football team will send two players to Division I football programs after defensive standout Dalyou Pierson accepted a scholarship to Iowa State and offensive tackle Miguel Machado committed to Michigan State.
Pierson, a sophomore, led the Southern California Football Association with 11.5 sacks this season to add to his already staggering resume. The two-time All-National Northern Conference selection finished his sensational career with 14 sacks, 112 total tackles, and 28 tackles for a loss. Expect to see Pierson spending a lot of time in opposing teams’ backfields during his time with the Cyclones.
“The ceiling just got raised,” PCC Head Coach, Fred Fimbres said, in reference to Pierson’s potential at the next level. “When players don’t have to worry about paying rent, and buying food, they have a better chance to flourish. They’ll be able to focus on just athletics and academics.”
Not to be outdone, sophomore tackle Miguel Machado has committed to Big-10 powerhouse Michigan State. The Spartans won their conference, and the Rose Bowl, while finishing with a national rank of No. 3 for the 2013 season.
Even though Machado did not speak highly of his stint with the Lancers, he appears to have confidence in his abilities to succeed at the next level.
“PCC was just a minor set back [sic] but Michigan state is going to be my major comeback…” Machado wrote in a message posted on Twitter Wednesday. Machado declined to be interviewed by the Courier.
Machado spent a majority of the 2013 season playing left tackle, considered the most important part of any offensive line (with an offense that is run by a right-handed quarterback). If he continues to be a standout on the O-line, especially for a nationally top-ranked program, he could get the attention of NFL scouts.
Fimbres said student athletes definitely receive the support needed for success at PCC, but there is no comparison to the resources and support systems provided by Division I universities, especially those with the budget of a large, Big-12 school, such as Iowa State.
Fimbres believes Pierson will succeed at the next level.
“They’ve seen his competition on the field during spring practice already and they still recruited Dalyou.” Fimbres said. “He was recruited to be an impact player.”
Pierson said that one of the reasons he committed to the Cyclones was that they “have the same defense as Pasadena. I don’t have to change, just get better.” Pasadena runs a 4-3 defense, unlike some schools that recruited him, such as the University of Arizona.
Pierson and the Cyclones will battle it out with some of college football’s biggest powerhouses, such as Texas, Oklahoma, Baylor, and Kansas State next season.
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