William McDuffieBy Rubin E. Grant
William Grier McDuffie has loved football since he was a little boy.
He began playing the sport when he was in the third grade and continued to play through his sophomore year at Mountain Brook High School. But before his junior year, McDuffie quit the football team to concentrate on lacrosse.
A midfielder, he helped the Spartans win the 2022 Alabama Lacrosse Championship and had designs on playing the sport in college.
But in the spring this year, McDuffie had a change of heart, even though he was named first-team All-State in lacrosse.
“All the schools I was interested in playing lacrosse for were up north and I didn’t want to go that far away for college,” he said.
So, McDuffie went to Mountain Brook head football coach Chris Yeager and told him he wanted to rejoin the football team for his senior year.
Yeager welcomed his decision, much to McDuffie’s delight.
“I am happy he accepted me back,” McDuffie said. “It’s been great. I love being around the guys and being around the coaches. Coach Yeager has been great. They’ve toughened me up and taught me how to be a man.”
Yeager decided to insert McDuffie as the Spartans’ middle linebacker to replace Trent Wright, who graduated after being named the 2022 OTM Defensive Player of the Year.
The decision to put the 6-foot-1, 190-pound McDuffie at middle linebacker came with a little trepidation.
“We were concerned about how quickly he would pick things up,” Yeager said. “The Mike linebacker is the cornerstone of our defense, the quarterback of our defense. But from the spring until now, it’s amazing how far he has come.”
McDuffie played weak side linebacker his sophomore season, but it didn’t take long for him to adjust to the Mike position.
“It’s surprised me how naturally it’s come together, like a perfect puzzle when certain things just look certain,” McDuffie said. “It’s like if we’re going to blitz to the left, then the offensive line slides to the right, so you have to be aware of what’s going on and make the adjustment.”
McDuffie credited Spartans’ defensive coordinator Shane Stearns and defensive assistant coach Buddy Pell, a former Mountain Brook linebacker, as well as Wright for spurring his growth. He also said he studies film every day so he can keep learning and keep improving.
Making Plays
McDuffie plays with such reckless abandon that the Spartans’ opponents probably wish he would have stuck to lacrosse.
“I just like to play aggressive,” McDuffie said. “My teammates know how to do their thing and (that) makes it easier for me do my thing.”
Yeager marvels at McDuffie’s productivity. He has recorded 57 tackles and four sacks, forced two fumbles and recovered two fumbles in four games.
“What he does is, to me, is he just gives continuous effort and he plays very violent,” Yeager said. “It’s unbelievable the way he plays. One other thing he does is plays good in space and he covers so much ground. It’s amazing how much ground he covers so quick.
“He has 70 production points. That’s the biggest we’ve ever had after four games. It’s for tackles, assists, hurries, sacks, interceptions, anything to add production to the defense. You can also have points taken away for missed tackles. To have that in four games is pretty impressive.”
McDuffie also has developed into a leader on the defense.
“He has a very settling personality,” Yeager said. “He gives people around him a lot of confidence.”
The people around him have given him a nickname.
“Some of my friends call me ‘Willie G,’ but most people call me by both names, William Grier,” he said.
What does his mother prefer? “She’s started to grow on Willie G,’” he said with a laugh.
Title Dreams
Since a season-opening 35-10 loss to Vestavia Hills, Mountain Brook’s defense has allowed only 13 points while winning at James Clemens (18-13) and posting shutouts on the road at Minor (28-0) and at Woodlawn (51-0) in the Spartans’ first two Class 6A, Region 5 games.
“The defense grew up a lot as a team after the Vestavia game,” McDuffie said. “The defense had to step up and not be pushed around. We had to learn that we had to fight for everything.”
The Spartans (3-1, 2-0) will play host to Jackson-Olin (0-4, 0-2) in another region game Friday.
By sitting out the 2022 season, McDuffie missed a chance to play in the Class 6A championship game last year. The Spartans fell to Saraland 38-17 in the final at Auburn’s Jordan Hare Stadium.
McDuffie hopes the Spartans can make it back to the championship game this season but with a different outcome.
“The team is super motivated,” he said. “We’ve got to keep working and keep grinding. Our end goal is to win the state championship.”
Meanwhile, McDuffie is starting to garner some interest from colleges to play football at the next level.
“I’ve had communication with a couple of schools, but nothing too serious,” he said.
Even so, he’s happy to be playing the game he grew up loving again.
“I’m having a whole lot of fun,” he said. “I’m 100 percent glad I’m back.”
English (US)