Weatherford commits to West Georgia
John Weatherford never questioned if he would play football again. The Land O'Lakes senior suffered a season-ending knee injury on the third day of preseason practice, and he forecasted the end of his high school career. He also told the Times in August, "I'm going to play in college for sure."
Fast forward seven months: Weatherford orally committed to West Georgia on Thursday. Maybe he should consider studying meteorology?
Weatherford also received an offer from New Hampshire, which proved to be too far from home, and invitations to walk on at Florida and UCF where older brother Joe is a quarterback. He also is the younger brother of Florida State quarterback Drew Weatherford, who was recruited by West Georgia coach Daryl Dickey.
The idea of Weatherford - a 6-foot-2, 210-pound running back/receiver - receiving any offers seemed crazy after he missed an entire season. Land O'Lakes coach John Benedetto credits Weatherford's success during his sophomore and junior years. As a junior he rushed for 264 yards on 49 carries and logged 102 tackles.
"He never gave up hope," Benedetto said. "He was down for
quite a while, but he rallied and worked hard."
-- IZZY GOULD
izzygould@gmail.com
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