Southeast’s Dequan Williams among county’s overlooked prospects

Any bit of praise Rashad West starts to heap on Dequan Williams this season seems to feel premature. It’s not that he isn’t deserving of recognition — instead he’s always finding a way to make the latest bit of admiration obsolete.

Take last week: As the Southeast head coach stood on the field after practice to preview the Seminoles’ upcoming game against Arcadia DeSoto County, he flipped the subject to Williams, unprompted.

“He’s a player, man,” said West, who took over the Noles during the spring. “He’ll be a guy who gets some offers late.”

His edge rusher had been on a tear, posting three sacks for the second straight game during a rout of Bayshore. A few days later he did it again. The senior piled up three more sacks during a 35-6 win against DeSoto County in Arcadia. His season total rose to 10 — the best in Manatee County.

Williams’ production speaks for itself. He has 10 more tackles for a loss, plus three forced fumbles, a fumble recovery and a pass defended. In four games, he’s recorded 27 total tackles and 23 of those have been solo.

He’s partially the beneficiary of a defense filled with quality pass rushers — senior defensive end Darrien Grant is already verbally committed to South Florida and junior Teriq Houston was a first-team All-Area selection last year — but Williams’ production stands ahead of the group, statistically. After Southeast’s win against the Bruins, Bayshore head coach John Biezuns pointed to Williams first, calling him “a phenom.”

So he hasn’t exactly flown under the radar locally — he was also a first-team All-Area selection by the Herald last fall — but his production has yet to draw a scholarship offer. At 6 feet, 1 inch and 207 pounds he isn’t significantly undersized as a linebacker, which is why West is confident in Williams’ future.

Of course, it isn’t entirely uncommon for a player like Williams to fly under the radar through most of the fall of his senior year only to pull in Division I interest toward the end of the season and leading up to National Signing Day. Like in any year, this senior class is filled with under-the-radar prospects like Williams. Here are some of those without an offer who should be in the mix on Signing Day.

A.J. Colagiovanni, QB, Manatee

The second-team All-State quarterback for Class 8A last year got off to a bit of a slow start in his senior year. A broken foot during the spring held him out for most of August and he came off the bench in the Hurricanes’ win against Seffner Armwood during the preseason. His rushing ability, a strength last season, has been sapped during his recovery.

Still, his 936 passing yards are the most for a quarterback at a county public school. His size — he’s listed at 6 feet and 195 pounds — was always a limitation and the injury disrupted him, yet he should still land at the Division I level.

Seth Walter, TE/G, Manatee

Like Colagiovanni, Walter was a second-team All-Area selection last year and figures to wind up playing at a similar level in college. Both Canes figure to play at least in the Football Championship Subdivision.

Walter, who starts at guard, has some upside, though, with a 6-foot-4 frame to pack weight on to. He’s listed at 240 pounds and should contend for a state weightlifting title at that size during the spring.

Deqwunn McCobb, DL, Braden River

When coaches from Division I programs showed up at Pirates practice during the spring to check out defensive backs Tyrone Collins and Demetrius Lawson, Braden River head coach Curt Bradley also pushed them to McCobb. The secondary has been the finishing unit for the Pirates, but the success of the defense has begun with the pass rush and a front seven led by McCobb.

The 6-foot-3, 290-pound senior typically plays the nose for Braden River and has been a disruptive force once again.

Desmine Ross, DB, Palmetto

A transfer from the Pirates, Ross has become one of the best shutdown cornerbacks in the area playing for the county’s top-ranked pass defense. The Tigers are holding opponents to 63.5 passing yards per game this season and have surrendered only two touchdowns in six games. Ross has hauled in three interceptions himself.

The defensive back flew under the radar last year, coming off the bench in Braden River’s crowded secondary. He was projected as a starter for the Pirates this season and is now having a breakout campaign in Palmetto. Had he been a starter earlier in his career, Tigers head coach Dave Marino said, Ross would likely already have some D-I offers.

News and nuggets:

• Taylor Upshaw had a week filled with Power Five Conference action. The Braden River end took his scheduled visit to Georgia and, although the Bulldogs didn’t pull the trigger with a scholarship offer, the junior landed two other major offers. Pittsburgh became the first major conference program to extend an offer to Upshaw on Thursday, then Vanderbilt became the first Southeastern Conference school to Friday. With only five career games under his belt, Upshaw already has four Division I offers.

This story was originally published October 3, 2016 at 11:24 PM with the headline "Southeast’s Dequan Williams among county’s overlooked prospects."