Brockington, Williams, Merritt sign

Published 9:24 pm Wednesday, December 16, 2020

MOULTRIE – Three former Colquitt County football players, including one who last played for the Packers in 2018, took advantage of the first day of the NCAA’s early signing period on Wednesday to take the next step in continuing their careers.

Wide receiver Lemeke Brockington and quarterback Xavier Williams, key offensive contributors to Colquitt County’s Region 1-7A championship team that reached the state quarterfinals this year, were honored in a ceremony at the high school along with Brian Merritt, who played the last two seasons at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College.

Brockington is heading to the University of Minnesota; Williams, to UNC-Charlotte; and Merritt, to the University of Houston.

All three will enroll at their schools in January.

“These guys are getting full-tuition scholarships and that is what sports is all about,” Packers coach Justin Rogers said. “We want to use football. We don’t want football to use us for the talents we have.

“We want to use football for the lessons it teaches and the character that it builds.”

Last Friday, Brockington concluded a brilliant Colquitt County career in which he finished with 108 pass receptions, ranking fifth all-time at Colquitt County behind only Kiel Pollard (199), Bobby Hill (121), Ty Lee (118) and Tommy Hudson (112).

His career receiving yardage and career touchdown receptions (25) rank second all-time.

This season, Brockington was named Region 1-7A’s Athlete of the Year, helping lead the Packers to a 9-1 record.

Rogers recognized the extraordinary football talent Brockington possesses, but also called him “the ultimate team guy” and positive influence on the team. He added that Minnesota is not only getting an outstanding player, but a young man of great character.

And, speaking directly to Brockington, he said, “Don’t ever change. Please, don’t change.”

The 6-foot-2, 205-pound Williams moved with his family to Colquitt County last summer after being the backup quarterback at Ola High School in Henry County last year.

But he earned the starting position and with his rare combination of strong running and accurate passing and led the Packers to a 6-0 record before suffering a knee injury on the first offensive snap in Colquitt County’s regular-season finale at Tift County.

He is now recovering from knee surgery.

“He had an unbelievable year that was cut short by an injury,” Rogers said. “But he made an impact that will last a lifetime.”

Williams was leading the team in both rushing (424 yards, an 8.3 average per carry and five touchdowns) and passing (73-for-118 for 1,085 yards and 14 touchdowns) when he was injured.

His impact was honored when he was named the region’s Player of the Year.

For his part, Williams said that even though he was part of the Colquitt County program for less than six months, he felt like he has known his Packers teammates “my whole life.”

Rogers noted that as a freshman, Williams was 5-foot-6 and weighed 130 pounds.

“But he didn’t lose faith,” Rogers said. “He continued to do the right things and reaped the benefits of delayed gratification.”

Merritt played on the 2017 and 2018 Colquitt County teams that came up just short in state championship games.

But in 2019, he was a member of the Mississippi Gulf Coast team that won the National Junior College Athletic Association national title.

Merritt had an outstanding national championship game, being credited with three solo tackles and one assist and had a half-sack and 1 1/2 tackles for loss.

For the season, Merritt had 39 tackles, five sacks and a fumble recovery.

Earlier in the season, Merritt was named the National Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in Gulf Coast’s 55-34 victory over Southwest Mississippi. He had 11 tackles overall, including 4.5 tackles for loss, including 2.5 sacks in the game.

This season, the 6-foot-1, 290-pounder was named the MACCC South Division’s Most Valuable Defensive Lineman.

The Bulldogs were 5-1 this year, falling in the conference championship game.

Out of high school, Merritt originally signed with Florida Atlantic, but then decided to go to MGCCC.