Rivals250 Safety Is Hope of Many
MIDWEST CITY -- Will Sunderland is lined up wide left against a Bartlesville corner back who must know the ball is coming his way just a few yards from the back of his own end zone.
Sunderland, who is ranked as a 4-star prospect and the among the top 10 safety recruits in the country, is too valuable a player for the Midwest City Bombers to be left on just one side of the ball.
Advertisement
On this particularly play, the Bombers coaching staff has thrown him out wide and overloaded the other side of the field with three receivers of the field.
The Bartlesville safeties have dutifully rolled to the strong side of the formation and left that lone corner on an island to cover the No. 3 player in the state. Standing 6-foot-2 and weighing close to 200-pounds, the 17-year-old Sunderland dwarfs the defender.
At the snap, Sunderland's height advantage seems to be the determining factor in who will catch the fade route lofted in his direction. But when he comes off the ball it becomes clear his height won't play a role in the play at all.
He's just too fast for his man.
Sunderland runs by the shorter defender, beats him to the corner of the end zone and cradled the ball -- getting both feet down in bounds. As he turns to run back toward the sideline, his parents, Will Sr. and Tameka Sunderland, jump to their feet to celebrate their son's latest triumph.
It's only a scrimmage between the Bombers and the Bruins at Rose Field, but the Sunderlands could care less. Their baby boy just scored a touchdown.
This is what gets them going.
Not the blueblood programs that have all offered him the chance to play Division I football. Not the promise of an NFL career.
Watching their son do his thing on a football field brings them the most joy. In between snaps while in the stands, they talk about when he started playing the sport he's come to love.
'I WANT TO PLAY FOOTBALL'
Sunderland was just six years old, and his father was washing dishes. He tugged as his father's leg for attention until his father acknowledged him.
"Daddy, I want to play football," he said.
So began Sunderland's football career but with one caveat. If he played, he wasn't allowed to quit.
He showed speed and agility as soon as he hit the field, following his father's advice, which was simple: If you don't want to get hit, run.
So he ran, and he ran so fast that other parents felt the need to tell the Sunderlands how fast -- how good -- their son was.
"I kind of looked at it like 'Well, he's a little kid. It's too early to tell," Will Sr. said.
Through elementary school and middle school, it still might have been too early to tell. By the time he got to high school, though, Sunderland looked the part of a big-time college recruit.
It was Midwest City defensive coordinator Jason Sexton who decided it was his job to make sure Sunderland didn't just look the part.
'A POSITIVE ROLE MODEL'
It's a hot day in the middle of August, and the Bombers have just begun their preseason camp. Sexton has split the defense up into their individual position groups for drills.
Sexton works with his safeties on footwork, lowering their center of gravity to flip their hips and go. Technique is a part of Sexton's mantra.
He doesn't like false steps or wasted motion, and he absolutely loves hustle and heart. Sounds about right for a man's who's own heart is big enough to engulf all of his players, his kids.
Sexton, with his backward black Pittsburgh Pirates hat, is a fiery and loud and bursting with energy.
On this day where the heat index goes north of 100 degrees, he'll running around the field yelling himself hoarse. Every sentence Sexton utters seems to have exclamation point on the end of it.
Right now he's throwing passes to Roscoe Gatewood and Sunderland and positively reinforces their ability to attack the football.
"That's it, Roscoe! At its highest point!" Sexton says.
Gatewood, who is a captain, has perhaps the best footwork of the group, and he's sure of himself. He's a heartbeat away from picking up his first Division I offer and the kind of player Sexton loves to coach.
The safeties are used to Sexton's loud voice, used to its cadence. The volume doesn't put them off.
When Sexton asks for a little bit more, a little more drive from them, they give it willingly and without question. They respect him because they know he'll do anything to make them better players, better men.
He's driven them through the night to college football camps around the country. He makes sure they spend time together as a group and as a defense.
They are his job, his hobby, his pride and joy. He views each one of his players as his own responsibility, much like a big brother, especially Sunderland.
Two weeks ago Sexton drove Sunderland to AT&T Stadium in Dallas for the game between No. 1 Florida State and Oklahoma State.
Will Sr. and Tameka couldn't be more appreciative for the role he's played in Sunderland's life since he entered high school. They admit it took some time for Sexton to gain their trust, but they can't overlook what he's done for their son.
"Jason fits in, not as a parent but as a positive role model, a good friend," Will Sr. said. "He's somebody that I know I can call, and he can handle my son if he's out of line. Jason is more than welcome at my house any day."
'I WANT TO PROVE THEM RIGHT'
Following a preseason practice, Sunderland sits down beneath a tree away from the heat. He's taken his jersey off to reveal what and who he is.
He starts by giving his name, making sure to note he's the proud junior and his father is the senior. He starts by answering each question with "Yes, sir," or "No, sir."
Sunderland touches on what Sexton has meant to his development and how excited he is to play football this year. Mostly, though, he doesn't want to let down those who helped him get to this point.
"Just being one of the top athletes in the school, people have told me, 'Will, you can be somebody when you grow up," Sunderland said. "I want to prove them right."
'HE'S ONLY 17'
Sunderland has already set official visit dates with Ohio State and Oklahoma. He has family near both schools, and the Sunderlands are comfortable with the idea of him going far away from home for college.
Tameka has been partial to Oklahoma State for how they've said they can help Sunderland in school. She's looking out for her son's academics.
"I just love the atmosphere, and, really, the school system in how they handle the players," she said. "I'm looking at education and what they have to offer."
Will Sr. is an Sooner fan and likes how his son has been treated in Norman. Neither will be disappointed if Sunderland decides to go another way, though.
They see the fact that Sunderland has even one offer to play college football as a blessing. During the scrimmage at Rose Field, they make clear they want what is best for him.
"We just take it one day at a time," Will Sr. said. "Just go have fun. He's only 17."