Who to Watch?
One of the best games of the year was Maryville visiting Bradley Central. From the time I was asked to cover that game, Boo Carter and Marcus Goree were on my watch list, since they were committed to the Vols. There was another person I had been told to pay attention to, and he was the one that really caught my eye, Tito Williams.
A Safety Who Hits Like a Linebacker
It was not long into the first quarter that Maryville had the ball around their own 20 yard line. The quarterback handed the ball off to the running back, and he ran to the outside. The next thing I know, #3 came on a safety blitz and hit him, wrapped him up, and took him down. It was text-book for how defensive players are supposed to tackle. The only thing that went through my mind was “Number three hits like a linebacker, and not a safety.” After that play, his name was called the entire game. If the defender was anywhere close to him, he took him down, reminding me of a linebacker.
Don’t let his nice personality fool you
Toward the end of the game I was made aware that his personality off the field was much different than the one when he was on the field. I was talking to a friend of mine, who knew the coaching staff at Bradley Central. We started talking about Tito and the game that he had. One of the coaches told my friend that Tito was, “The best kid in the whole place.”
After the game, I had the opportunity to interview Tito, and I could tell that he is a nice kid. He had a great demeanor about him. His friendliness in conversation was equivalent to his aggressiveness on the gridiron. If you meet him in a public place, you can be sure that he will be nice; if you are running the ball in his direction, he will hit you in the mouth.
A Bright Future Awaits
Finally, I learned that besides being nice, he is also very smart. When watching football, you will often hear about someone having a high football IQ. There is no doubt that Tito’s IQ in this game is high, but his intelligence in every respect is high. His college offers are not just about his ability to play football, but it includes his academics as well. As of this report, he had not made a decision. The only thing he verified was that he was going to Memphis on an official visit the following day. Regardless of where he goes, Memphis, Vanderbilt, or somewhere else, I have no doubt that he will excel in football, academics but, most importantly, life.
