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LOPAKA ORNELLAS
ALBERT VEYTIA
VIDEO COORDINATOR FIFTH SEASON HAWAI'I
EQUIPMENT MANAGER SECOND SEASON UTEP
Lopaka Ornellas is in his fifth season as SMU’s video coordinator, having spent the previous six years as video coordinator at Hawai'i. Ornellas was a walk-on on the Hawai'i football team from 1996 through 1999 and played for Fred vonAppen and June Jones. He lettered in four sports in high school – boxing, football, track and wrestling – and also participated in rodeo competitions, riding bulls and roping cattle. He also enjoys combat sports and was a San Diego Golden Gloves boxing champion in 1991 and 1992 and the Hawaiian Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu Champion in 2005. His parents, Rita and John, reside in Mililani, O’ahu, and he has two older brothers, John and Billy, and one older sister, Karen.
MEDIA
Albert Veytia arrived on the Hilltop in the spring of 2011 with an extensive background as an equipment manager at both the collegiate and professional levels. Veytia was most recently head equipment manager at Kansas State, where he worked for two seasons, but his resume also includes a stop at North Texas, as well as stints with the NFL’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Kansas City Chiefs and Jacksonville Jaguars and two stops in NFL Europe (Frankfurt, Germany and Barcelona, Spain). Veytia has also served as head equipment manager for the Birmingham Barracudas of the Canadian Football League. A graduate of UTEP, Veytia worked as a student manager for the Miners before joining the staff of the USFL’s Houston Gamblers, where he worked with SMU Coach June Jones.
SHAY TAYLOR ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT SECOND SEASON SMU Shay Taylor is in her second year as SMU’s receptionist and recruiting assistant. In this role, she is responsible for assisting the coaching staff and maintaining the front office. An SMU grad, Taylor spent four seasons as a student athletic trainer working with the football team as an undergrad. She holds a degree in Cinema-Television. After graduation, Taylor worked for two years at Fieldhouse USA in Frisco, Texas, as a Sports Specialist. Her brother, Tyree Taylor, played linebacker at SMU in the late 90s and served as team captain in 1999. A letterwinner though the training room, Taylor was appointed to the Board of Directors for the Lettermen’s Association in the summer of 2012.
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