LORETTO, Pa. (Aug. 5, 2011) – The Saint Francis University Football team announced Friday the signing of Corey Nielsen (Cerritos, Calif./Gahr ), who has transferred from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Nielsen spent the last two seasons at Hawaii, redshirting during the 2009 season and seeing action in one game a season ago against Charleston Southern. With the transfer from the Bowl Subdivision to the Championship Subdivision he is eligible to play this season.

“We are very excited to add Corey to our team,” head football coach Chris Villarrial said. “He is a solid player who fits well into our system and we look forward to seeing him out of the field.”

The 5-11 quarterback posted a solid career at Gahr High School and was a two-time league MVP. In his high school career, Nielsen threw for 8,236 yards and 73 touchdowns, ranking him13th all-time in the state of California. In his senior season, he passed for 3,032 yards and 30 touchdowns and averaged 303.2 yards per game.

Nielsen threw for four or more touchdowns in five games and was selected with 50 other players as a National Old Spice Red Zone Player of the Year. He earned a second-team all-CIF southern section and was selected to play in the inaugural Hawaii/Polynesia-Mainland Bowl.

As a high school junior, Nielsen led the state of California and ranked third in the nation in passing, throwing for 4,363 yards and 35 touchdowns. He completed 65-percent of his passes and had only five interceptions. He posted over 400 yards in five games, including a 453-yard, six-touchdown performance. He led Gahr to a 10-3 record and the CIF-SS Western Division semifinals for the first time in school history.

Nielsen also earned a spot on the Press Telegram first team “Dream Team” and a first-team all-CIF southern section, while also named all-state by Max Preps, Cal-HI Sports and Golden State Preps. The native of Cerritos, Calif. graduated from high school in 2009 as class valedictorian while earning three varsity letters.