Former Viking, Jet, Jag joins revamped football staff

MEGAN MOUREAUX Managing Editor @meganlmoureaux

Getting drafted by an NFL team is a long shot, even more so if a player doesn’t come from a major university. But there’s a new coach at Pierce College who knows exactly what it’s like to go from a small school to playing on Sundays.

Matthew Hatchette graduated from Langston University, a Division II school in Oklahoma, and played in the NFL for six years. Hatchette brings his professional experience to the Pierce football team as the new offensive coordinator.

The former wide receiver was drafted in 1997 in the seventh round by the Minnesota Vikings. He played three years for the Vikings before he played for the New York Jets and Jacksonville Jaguars. After he retired from the NFL in 2003, Hatchette moved to Los Angeles and began teaching football camps and local high school teams.

“I pretty much got into the high school football portion of coaching, and since then it’s kind of evolved,” Hatchette said. “Now this opportunity came up through some friends out here at Pierce while training some high school kids. I decided it was a good opportunity, so I took the position.”

This will be Hatchette’s first stint as a college football coach, as he mostly teaches off-season camps for Nike and Elite 11, where he works with some of the top high school players across the nation.

“That kind of gives me a widespread view of the talent across the nation on this level,” Hatchette said.

Friday, April

UCLA will educate community college students about transfer strategies, its majors, student housing and financial aid at its Student Transfer Opportunity and Mentor Program (STOMP) conference. The STOMP conference is Friday, April 24, 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.

24th,2015

8:30am—4:00pm Ackerman Grand Ball Room