2025 HSFT Stop #49: Pickens County
PICKENS COUNTY, AL (WCBI)- Pickens County has been the model of consistency for over two decades. But in 2024, the tornadoes spiraled off the tracks, recording their first losing season since 2004. However, head coach Michael Williams knows his team will get back to the standard that has been set.
“Ever since 2013, the standard has always been raised to the championship or bust,” Williams said. “We’ve gotten there a lot since then. You know, we haven’t been able to cross it over, but the standard is the standard. I always tell them the standard is the baseline. You can’t go below the baseline. The only thing you can do is raise it. And we’re raising the standard right here. And I’m excited for this year.”
The Tornadoes threw a lot of young guys into the storm, including three middle schoolers. Williams knows that isn’t the most ideal situation, but believes that the team can build off of last season’s experience.
“These guys came in from the first day, and since June, the beginning of June, they came in here, changed the culture back to what it needed to be. The negativity of last year was out of our heads, and you know I like where we at right now. We push, push good, good two to three weeks into this fall camp and get ready, and then start focusing on Aliceville.”
The players knew that last season wasn’t what they wanted, and they are working to prepare those same young players for the long season ahead.
“We’ve got a lot of young guys, but the main thing, the main focus is being disciplined and this new system,” defensive back MJ Billups said. “So what we’ve been working on so far, and we are ready to play ball. We’ve been doing a good job; we’ve been teaching them what they need to know and want to do in the endgame situations here. Hopefully, they take that on.”
“They’ve been listening. They’ve been putting in work this summer, they’ve been working hard in the weight room, they’ve been on the field, listening to us and the coaches,” linebacker Mosiah Williams said. “The last few years, I have just made it to the semi-finals. We’ve gotta get over that hump, and I feel like the young guys come here and make a difference because they’re disciplined.”
Williams will begin his eighth season as head coach next Friday when Pickens County hosts Aliceville at 7 p.m.
