Ohio State’s Chris Olave Leads Latinos In College Football

If you watched closely, you surely noticed Ohio State wide receiver Chris Olave and other Latinos in college football making impacts during the first full week of the season. Latinos have a rich history in college football. This season promises to add another strong chapter.

Whether head coaches such as Mario Cristobal of Oregon or defensive linemen such as Fresno State’s David Perales, there were plenty of Latinos in college football this weekend. USC defensive back Chris Steele, whose mother is Mexican, also shone while helping the Trojans put on a defensive show against San Jose State.  

Pro Football Hall of Famers such as Anthony Muñoz and Tony Gonzalez first captured the sports world’s attention at USC and Cal, respectively. The next generation looks promising too, whether playing or coaching.

Several Latinos had impressive performances this weekend, including Ole Miss quarterback Matt Corral. Following the legacy of Hall of Famer Tom Flores, Corral accounted for 436 total yards of offense and two touchdowns while completing 22 of his 32 attempts.

Arizona quarterback Gunner Cruz passed for 336 yards. Perales helped the Bulldogs put a scare into Cristobal’s Ducks.

Tracking Latinos in college football

At Our Esquina, where we amplify Latino voices in sports, arts and culture, we’ll keep track of all the Latinos playing college football. This is our first weekly list of Latinos in college football.

We want to highlight their achievements and tell their stories during the season. There is no database at this point of Latinos playing college football, so this list is admittedly incomplete. Please email us if we missed a name.  

Latino Offensive Player of the Week

Chris Olave, wide receiver, The Ohio State University.

The San Diego native had four catches for 117 yards, with two of the catches going for scores in Ohio State’s season opening win against the upstart University of Minnesota.

Keep an eye on Olave, a Buckeyes captain, this season. He will likely be picked in the first or second round of the upcoming 2022 NFL Draft. 

Latino Defensive Player of the Week

David Perales of Fresno State

Perales nearly helped the Bulldogs pull off a major upset over Pac-12 powerhouse Oregon, which is led by Cuban-American Mario Cristobal. 

Perales, a Central Valley product from Merced, Calif., notched four solo tackles and a half a tackle for the Bulldogs against the Ducks. 

NAME	TEAM	POSITION	STATS	TEAM RESULTS
Aranda, Dave	Baylor	Head Coach		W, 29-20Texas State
Arias, Daniel	Colorado	WR	0 catches	W, 35-7  Northern Colorado
Avalos, Alex	Boise State	Head Coach		L, 31-36Central Florida
Banda, Ephraim	Utah State	Def. Coord/Safeties		W, 26-23Washington State
Canales, Mike “Chico”	Maryland	Analyst		W, 30-24West Virginia
Cardenas, Oscar	UTSA	TE	1 tackle	W, 37-30Illinois
Corral, Matt	Ole Miss	QB	22/32, 436 total YDS, 2 total TDs	Louisville
Corrales, Beau	North Carolina	WR	0 catches	L, 10- 17 Virginia Tech
Cristobal, Mario	Oregon	Head Coach		W, 31-24Fresno State
Cruz, Gunner	Arizona	QB	34-45, 336 yds1 TD, 1 IN	L, 24-16BYU
Diaz, Manny	Miami (FL)	Head Coach		L, 13-44Alabama
Escobar, Alex	New Mex. St.	RB	1 rec., 19 yds.	L, 10-28San Diego St.
Escobar, Ivan	New Mex. St.	DL	Tackles- 1 solo, 1 assisted,	L, 10-28San Diego St.
Figueroa, Nick	USC	DL	Tackles- 1 solo and TFL	W, 30-7San José State
Flores,Reynaldo	UTEP	RB	9 rushes, 37 yds.	W, 38-20Bethune-Cookman
Fuente, Justin	Virginia Tech	Head Coach		W, 17-10 North Carolina
Garcia, Elijah	Rice	DL	Tackles- 2 solo, 2 assisted,	L, 17-38Arkansas
Garcia, Julio	UNLV	OL	339 yds.- Total offense
Gonzales, Christian	Colorado	CB	Tackles- 2 solo, 1 assisted, .5 TFL	W, 35-7  Northern Colorado
Gonzales, Danny	New Mexico	Head Coach		W, 27-17Houston Baptist
Gonzales, Paul	TCU	Safeties Coach		W, 45-3 Duquesne
Gutierrez, Daniel	UNLV	K	4/4- FG1/1- PAT	L, 33-35Eastern Washington
Hernandez, Dan	Eastern Illinois	OL Coach		L, 0-46South Carolina
Jackson, Jim	Rice	TE Coach		L, 17-38Arkansas
Mateos, Eric	Baylor	OL		W, 29-20Texas State
Melo, Lucas	Davenport University	Run Game Coordinator/Defensive Line		L, 14-31 Truman State
Mendez, Julian	Ottawa University	Offensive Coordinator		L, 13-41Southwestern College
Mirabal, Alex	Oregon	OL Coach		W, 31-24Fresno State
Madrigal, Anthony	SJSU	LB	No stats	L, 7-30USC
Montano, Abraham	Fresno State	K	1 tackle,3/3 – FG1/1- PAT	L, 24-31Oregon
Montero, Antonio	Rice	LB	Tackles- 4 solo, 7 assisted, 1 TFL1 sack	L, 17-38Arkansas
Navarro, Jaime	SJSU	OL	376 yds.- Total offense	L, 7-30USC
Navarro, Juan	NCCU	DL Coach	OFF
Navarro, Donny	Illinois	WR	3 rec., 24 yds.1 PR, 14 yds1 KR, 18 yds	L, 37-30UTSA
Olave, Chris	Ohio State	WR	4 rec.,117 yds.2 TD’s	W, 45-31Minnesota
Ornelas, Jesse	Central Oklahoma	RB		W, 24-20Missouri Western
Ortega- Jones, Julian	Texas St.	WR	3 rec., 23 yds.	L, 20-29Baylor
Perales, David	Fresno State	DL	Tackles-4, solo.5, TFL	L, 24-31Oregon
Ponce, Frank	Appalachian State	Offensive Coordinator		W, 33-19East Carolina
Regalado, Marco	Washington State	Director of On-Campus Recruiting		L, 23-26Utah State
Reveles, Miguel	La Verne	Offensive Coordinator		W., 42-0 Whittier College
Rivas- Sandoval, Cesar	Southeastern University	Head Coach		L, 14-31Faulkner University
Rodriguez, Juan	Fresno State	TE	No stats	L, 24-31Oregon
Rodriguez, Oscar	Akron	Associ. HC/ ILB		L, 10-60Auburn
Rodriguez, Robert	Arizona St.	DL coach		W, 41-14Southern Utah
Santa Cruz, Victor	Hawaii	Defensive Ends coach		W, 49-35Portland State
Santana, JuanCarlos	Tulsa	WR	1 rec., 21 yds.	L, 17-19UC Davis
Soto, Anthony	Lenoir-Rhyne	Offensive Coordinator/ /OL		W, 48-7 Virginia State
Steele, Chris	USC	CB	Tackles- 3, solo	W, 30-7San José State
Velazquez, Alonzo	Wyoming	OL	347 yds.- Total offense	W, 19-16Montana State