of good players,” Hyatt said.
Coming into the spring Britt held just
three offers – all from in-state schools.
Going into The Opening in July, the elite
national prospect camp where he left
with a spot on the first-team defense, he
held more than 10 times that many – and
not just from the SEC and ACC. His
commitment was expected in early August.
That’s how quickly his star has risen.
Britt tackles Williams during a game in 2015.
“I guess I take that as a compliment,” he
said. “They obviously still like you a lot
to still be recruiting you whenever you’ve
already told them you have a good idea
where you want to go.”
Southside Running Back Alaric Williams
“A lot of that comes from work; I’ve
worked my tail off,” Britt said. “You can’t
get anything being lazy. You’ve got to
work when people don’t want to work. A
man who doesn’t work won’t eat. I’ve been
working hard and I’m trying to eat.”
Williams, a bruising running back
distantly related to former Etowah, Auburn
and NFL running back Carnell “Cadillac”
Williams, has been an Auburn commit
since his breakout sophomore year.
It will take something drastic like a
relationship change to flip him, but that
hasn’t stopped others from pursuing him.
Nebraska and Georgia are still in contact,
knowing the race isn’t really over until
National Signing Day in February.
30 | 2016 Pigskin Roundup the Magazine
Similarly, Hyatt has been “solid” in his
commitment to Arkansas for a long time,
picking the Razorbacks over Missouri,
Louisville, Vanderbilt and Ole Miss.
He made the decision shortly after
transferring to Etowah from Arab in
February, and one of the benefits of the
move, while not the reason for it, is it
will help prepare him for what he’ll see at
Arkansas.
The Razorbacks run some of their offense
from under center and so do the Blue
Devils. Hyatt hasn’t taken an under-center
snap since the seventh grade, so that took a
little getting used to, but Noles said “he did
really well with it” in the spring.
His lean (6-4, 182) build gives him the look
of a pro-style passer, but he is a surprisingly
good runner with exceptional escape ability
from the pocket. As a sophomore he threw
for 2,250 yards and 16 touchdowns, but he
also ran for 731 yards and eight scores. Last
year, Arab slumped to 1-9.
While many prospects are still undecided
about their college choice, Hyatt –
and Williams -- is glad he made his
commitment early.
“It’ll make it a lot easier and more
comfortable, not having to worry about
anything except for going out and playing
on Friday nights,” he said.
And Friday night should be more electric
with these top prospects on the field. Britt
goes against three of the area’s other top
prospects this season. His Oxford team
plays both Southside and Gadsden City.
Call it a clash of the titans.
“Me and him, we bump heads,” Williams
said as he looked at an iconic picture of
Britt tackling him from last year’s game.
“We’re actually really cool off the field. We
tweet a lot. But when we’re on the field, me
and him are definitely not cool at all.”
Al Muskewitz writes for the East Alabama
Sports Today website.