Westgate’s Latulas inks with Louisiana Christian

Published 4:00 pm Wednesday, May 22, 2024

Cleveland Latulas

Westgate’s Cleveland Latulas used unwavering commitment to his craft to become the starting center for the Tigers. Now, he’ll be plying his trade at the collegiate level, signing with Louisiana Christian University at a ceremony Wednesday morning.

Latulas said he was looking forward to making the jump to college football with an eye on making the starting roster in his first season.

“I feel good. It’s an amazing feeling,’ he said. “I’m going to keep the same mindset that I’ve had over here since Day 1. I could see myself starting, the center spot is mine to take.”

Latulas leaves Westgate as one of the Tigers’ most dependable offensive linemen, but it wasn’t always the case. According to coach Edwin Pierre, it took a lot of hard work and dedication to transform Latulas into the player he is today.

““I’ve been knowing Cleveland since he was doing the prayer in church. When he first came to Westgate, I told him that he was never going to play over here if he didn’t change,” Pierre explained. “He just kept coming, kept getting better and working harder and harder. If he keeps that same work ethic, he’s going to make it and be successful in whatever he does.”

Coach Marcel Winston echoed a similar sentiment, crediting Latulas’ ability to block out distractions and doubt for his continued development.

“Don’t ever change,” Winston said to Latulas. “(Cleveland) has a trait that I’m super jealous of. I like to think that I’m a hard worker, but you don’t care what anybody thinks at all, even when you were messing up the snaps and people were going off on Facebook. That’s your best trait, and it’s going to take you leaps and bounds past somebody that might be bigger than you or faster than you. Keep that mentality.”

It wasn’t just Latulas’ ability to remain focused that helped him grow as a player, his attendance also played an important role.

With a perfect attendance record to practice, including voluntary workouts, Latulas said he always knew that if he wanted to make it to the next level, he would have to always show up.

“I pray to God and try to do better every day. Even when I feel like I did something wrong, I stay back after practice so I can correct it and do extra work,” he said. “Doing extra made me better. There’s times I wanted to not show up, but I know that, to get to the level I want to get to, that isn’t good for me. I have to keep a positive mindset and just do it.”