Dedrick Latulas

Westgate senior Dedrick Latulas had a pretty good week.

At McNeese over the weekend, Latulas picked up an impressive gold medal finish in the triple jump with a distance of 43’ 8” and finished 4th in the long jump. He followed that performance by dropping 24 points to secure a win for Westgate’s boys basketball team against David Thibodaux on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, Latulas found himself sitting at the signing table with five options in front of him.

“Coach (Ryan) Antoine preaches never putting athletes in a box,” Latulas explained. “I was scared to go and play basketball. I didn’t know if I wanted to do it, but he got me on that court and I dropped 24 points. Who would have ever thought I could’ve done that? I went to track and maximized my athletic ability, which will carry on to my football. It’s just an amazing feeling knowing that I have coaches that believe in me and push me to be my best and to be a well-rounded athlete.”

With his offers narrowed down to McNeese State University, Louisiana Tech University, Southern University, the United States Military Academy and Florida A&M University, it was anybody’s guess where the all-around athlete would end up next season.

After initially picking up the blue LA Tech baseball cap, Latulas returned it to the table and revealed a Florida A&M t-shirt under his jacket. As the crowd erupted with excitement and surprise, Latulas again shocked onlookers when he revealed that he had another shirt on, this time a white shirt with the LA Tech logo on it.

Despite the switcheroo, Latulas said that his decision to join Louisiana Tech was never in doubt.

“It never was in question,” he said after the signing. “I’ve always been loyal to the ‘Dogs. They believed in me ever since I went to Junior Day and I knew it was the school for me. They’ve been pushing for me the most, coming to my house and visiting me a lot, so there’s a lot of love over there. It’s a real family. I’ve been signed since December 21st, I just didn’t let anyone know.”

Latulas, who excelled in several positions on offense for the Tigers this year, said that his new coaches have several big ideas for his freshman season.

“They put a big emphasis on the return game so I’m going there to be a return specialist,” he explained. “I’ll also play everywhere like I did at Westgate. I’m going to try to get in at running back and wide receiver and just make my presence known. I want to put my city on the map.”

Latulas has also excelled academically at Westgate, performing near the top of his class even with the pressures and schedule difficulties of being a multi-sport state champion. At Louisiana Tech, Latulas will work to get a degree that will allow him to give back to the sport he loves so much.

“My coaches have done a great job for me and they left a huge mark on me so I want to do that same thing,” he said. “I’m going to study kinesiology and go into coaching.”

Wide receiver coach Devin Boutte said that he has no doubt that Latulas will be a successful coach, adding that he already considers him to be a proficient coach now.

“He’s already a good coach,’ Boutte said confidently. “I got to spend time with the freshman this year because he was always able to take the whole group and work with them. He’s already a coach. You could send him somewhere right now and he’d be successful.”