Ocoee High football player Diego De Pina commits to the University of West Florida

The defensive lineman should be a huge factor in his final season for a scary Ocoee defense.

By Sam Albuquerque
| 12:00 p.m. August 5, 2024

Sports

Ocoee High football player Diego De Pina has announced his college football commitment to the University of West Florida.

The defensive lineman should be a huge factor for an Ocoee defense that looks to be one of the best in West Orange this upcoming season. The 6-foot-3, 240-pound Argos commit is lining up to have a bounce-back year in 2024 with fellow rusher and 2023 Orange Observer Football Player of the Year Michael McClenton lining up opposite of him on the line.

This pairing should consistently produce advantageous matchups for either star rusher next season.

Despite De Pina missing games because of injury in 2023, he still managed to rack up 39 tackles (five of which were for a loss), a sack and a fumble recovery. Combined with his size, this production was enough to show college scouts he was worth offering.

Beyond his skills on the gridiron, De Pina also is a star track-and-field athlete for the Knights, finishing as the state runner-up in the shot put and as a state qualifier in the discus.

author

Sam Albuquerque

A native of João Pessoa, Brazil, Sam Albuquerque moved in 1997 to Central Florida as a kid. After earning a communications degree in 2016 from the University of Central Florida, he started his career covering sports as a producer for a local radio station, ESPN 580 Orlando. He went on to earn a master’s degree in editorial journalism from Northwestern University, before moving to South Carolina to cover local sports for the USA Today Network’s Spartanburg Herald-Journal. When he’s not working, you can find him spending time with his lovely wife, Sarah, newborn son, Noah, and dog named Skulí.