Nwosu, Shepard-Creer sign with Fort Lewis, Lamar

SBCC's Manny Nwosu and Nakota Shepard-Creer bounced back from injuries to sign National Letters-of-Intent to continue their football careers at four-year schools.

Nwosu, a former Dos Pueblos High star, commited to Fort Lewis College, an NCAA Div. 2 school in Durango, Colo., while Shepard-Creer will play safety or cornerback for Lamar University, an NCAA Div. 1 FCS school in Beaumont, Texas.

Nwosu was a running back for the Vaqueros in 2016 and 2017. He became the first 1,000-yard rusher for the Vaqueros in decades in 2017, running for 1,080 yards and nine touchdowns. His best game was a 199-yard effort vs. L.A. Southwest that ranks No. 5 on SBCC's all-time list.

Nwosu suffered a shoulder injury in the last game of the year in 2017 at L.A. Valley and took a redshirt year to recover.

"I chose Fort Lewis because of the coaching staff," said Nwosu. "They said they believed in me and my skills and what I brought to the table. The recovery process for my shoulder took longer than I thought it would but I'm 100% now.

"Playing at SBCC was a great experience for a local kid from Goleta. The values that Coach Morop and all the other coaches taught me will definitely be engraved in my life."
 Nwosu will major in communications.

Shephard-Creer played for the Vaqueros in 2016, making 32 tackles with four interceptions. He signed with New Mexico State but that didn't work out and he returned to play for Santa Barbara last year. In 2018, he injured his wrist causing him to miss four games. He returned to play with a cast on his arm and intercepted a pass against Hancock.

"I felt like Lamar was the best opportunity for me," said Shepard-Creer, who visited the school last weekend and will major in business. "I loved going to school here and looking at the beach all the time. We have great coaches at SBCC, especially David Shelton."

Head coach Craig Moropoulos was happy to see his players move to the next level.

"I've known Manny for a quite a while," said Moropoulos. "He's an outstanding young man who's very quiet and plays very loud. He hurt his shoulder in the last game of 2017 and that was unfortunate because there were some opportunities. But he didn't let that get him down, he kept after it, kept going to school and this is a great opportunity for him."

Shepard-Creer suffered a spiral fracture in his right wrist in the 2017 season opener – a 45-0 win at Compton where he intercepted a pass.

"He had to play with a large cast and that was impressive," said Moropoulos. "He'll do well at Lamar because he's very commited."