Westover’s William Owens chooses Mercer

ALBANY — Westover defensive tackle William Owens has spent years earning a reputation as one of the area’s toughest and most dependable football players.

On Wednesday afternoon, that hard work paid off.

Surrounded by family, coaches and teammates, Owens announced that he will continue his football career at Mercer University, choosing the Bears over numerous other scholarship opportunities.

For Owens, the decision came down to more than football.

“It was about the brotherhood that I saw at Mercer,” Owens said. “That and the fact that their defensive scheme is similar to what we do at Westover.”

Owens also said he plans to study business while attending Mercer.

The commitment marks another milestone for a Westover program that continues to produce college-level talent under head coach Corey Joyner.

Joyner said Owens’ recruitment remained active until the very end.

“William has had about 10 offers to play college football,” Joyner said. “But he has impressed one coach so much that that coach has called me at least 15 times in the last 24 hours trying to convince William to decommit and join his school.”

Joyner said the attention Owens received from college coaches was no surprise.

“William has studied and worked hard,” Joyner said. “He shows great work ethic and continues to work to get better.”

The veteran coach added that Owens’ leadership has become increasingly valuable this summer as Westover searches for a new defensive assistant coach.

“This summer he has kind of been acting as our defensive line coach as we try to hire a defensive coach,” Joyner said.

Former Westover defensive line coach Bo Daniels, who recently became the head football coach at Monroe High School, also praised Owens during the ceremony.

Daniels coached Owens firsthand and said he possesses many of the qualities college programs seek when evaluating defensive linemen.

“As a coach, you’re always looking for players that are fast, physical and tough, and that’s what William is,” Daniels said. “He can be stubborn at times — most good players are. But when it has to do with technique or his job, William is always coachable and will do what he is asked to do.”

Those traits helped Owens develop into one of the region’s most respected defensive players and ultimately earned him the opportunity to play at the NCAA Division I level.

Now he will take those talents to Macon, where he hopes to help Mercer continue its rise as one of the Southern Conference’s top football programs. He will be joined by Lee County athlete Jordan Bush, who announced on social media Tuesday that he has committed to play at Mercer.

Owens is the son of Brinson and Latasha Miller.