A Sea Of Red

• Eastern Kentucky
  Liberty
  Massachusetts

Bradenton (FL) Herald wrote:DECEMBER 16, 2016 9:00 PM
After an up-and-down high school career, Palmetto High’s Rodshon Williams prepares for All-Star showcase


Palmetto High’s Rodshon Williams emerged as one of the best two-way players in Manatee County this fall after an up-and-down start to his high school career. David W. Doonan sports@bradenton.com

BY DAVID WILSON
dwilson@bradenton.com

PALMETTO Jim Phelan didn’t even need to see Rodshon Williams in pads to realize Manatee had a special talent ready to plug into the middle of his defensive line. Williams was still a few months away from his first game with the Hurricanes’ freshman team in 2013 when he and the rest of the incoming freshman class was working, running through get offs in shorts and T-shirts in one of the Manatee High School locker rooms.

Phelan liked to prowl around the locker room on these days, hand-picking the future of his defensive line before Steve Peebles, the offensive line coach at the time, could corral the same players for his side of the ball. Phelan didn’t have a chance to hesitate with Williams, so he called him over.