'Rockers
ink big O-lineman from Texas
By Brad Blume
Sports Information Director
RAPID CITY --- The South Dakota School of Mines football program along with head coach Dan Kratzer are pleased to announce the signing of new recruit Colin Williamson to the 2008 Hardrocker team.
Williamson has an impressive stature, standing 6-foot-6-inches and weighing 295 pounds. He is from San Antonio, Texas, where he played football for the College Park Cavaliers on the offensive line.
“Colin has the size and experience to step in and help us in the offensive line. He played left tackle his junior year and then was switched to left guard his senior year in a run oriented offense that ran behind him,” said Kratzer. “He is gaining strength and has decreased his 40-second time by two tenths of a second in the last year.”
Williamson helped College Park to a 9-2 record in only the school’s second year as a varsity program. The Cavaliers were the only new school in the state of Texas to make the playoffs in its first two years of athletics.
“He has great feet and the ability to pull and get to the second level of defenders,” said Williamson’s high school football coach Richard Carson. “He is continuing to develop and his best years are ahead of him.”
Williamson has a number of accomplishments during his high school career on and off the field, including: earning 15-5A second team all district honors; was a four-year member of the National Charity Roundtable; and volunteering for several different organizations (Interfaith Habitat, Senior Citizens, Tamina Community Center, Katrina Relief Funds and reading programs for elementary schools).
“With his work ethic, he could become a starter very soon in our offensive scheme. Colin is not only a good player, but excels off the field with his volunteering in a church youth organization for the past 4 years,” Kratzer said. “Colin knows what good leadership is and has the personality to become just that --- a good leader in our program. I really look forward to having Colin in our football program."
While attending the South Dakota School of Mines, Williamson plans a major in engineering.
The Hardrockers season begins Aug. 30 when they play host to Haskell Indian Nations University in a 6 p.m. game on Dunham Field at O’Harra Stadium.