There may not be a professional football team in Los Angeles, but LSU safety Craig Loston may not need football to be a professional there.
Loston, rated by NFL Media draft analyst Gil Brandt as the 39th-best senior NFL draft prospect in the nation, takes theater classes at LSU. And although teammates rib him about it, Loston said his post-football career will turn in that direction.
"Theater is] the thing I love, and after football, it's what I plan on doing," Loston said, [according to lsureveille.com. "We all have to be uncomfortable to be able to do the things we want to do in life."
Loston first took theater in high school only as a means of getting out of school for an annual weeklong field trip. In time, however, he developed an interest in it, and it became more than just a vehicle to miss some classes. He has acted, designed play sets, read improv, and even wrote a play entitled "Jamaica, Jamaica." Classmates and teammates acted in the play's classroom debut.
"I don't fit in," Loston said. "I'd say I'm the outcast in the major."
The former five-star safety recruit has been plagued by injuries in his career, but is nevertheless one of the elite safety talents in the Southeastern Conference. He learned the position behind the likes of Eric Reid, now a promising safety with the San Francisco 49ers, and the Arizona Cardinals' Tyrann Mathieu, who played safety and cornerback for the Tigers.
Loston, however, sees life after football more clearly than some. And it can lead to some joking from teammates.
"I have a couple of guys that make fun of me," Loston said. "[Senior linebacker] Lamin [Barrow] always makes fun of me and is like, 'You think you're an actor, huh? You're going to be an actor, huh?'"
One thing is for sure -- Loston's play on the field is no act.
Follow Chase Goodbread on Twitter @ChaseGoodbread.
