Wetumpka senior Colby Golson has committed to the University of West Alabama.
Golson signed his national letter of intent on National Signing Day on Wednesday to play in one of the toughest conferences in NCAA Division II football, the Gulf South Conference.
Head coach Tim Perry said Golson’s commitment to West Alabama came not just from the time he spent practicing with the team, but also with time he had invested on his own to better himself, both on the field and in the classroom.
“This just didn’t happen in a few days,” Perry said. “Colby’s sitting here today and he received this offer from the University of West Alabama because of the hours and hours of time he’s put in not just on regular practices and off-season workouts, but all the time he’s invested on his own. If you aspire to continue your career on the next level, how much time are you willing to invest on your own? Not just what’s required of you, but on your own?”
Once the signing was complete, Perry said that while Wetumpka looks forward to watching Golson play with the West Alabama Tigers, he will always be a Wetumpka Indian.
“I’d like to thank God, because without him, none of this would be possible,” Golson said. “Secondly, all the coaching staff, everyone here, family, I’d like to thank the coaching staff at West Alabama, and I’d like to thank my teammates who pushed me to become better and push me to the next level.”
Golson’s expectations for his time at West Alabama are very straightforward.
“I’m expecting to win,” he said. “I want to win the whole conference. I want to win as much as we can and dominate everyone we play.”
During the event, Perry spoke of the importance of academic achievement, stating that a player cannot just make it to the collegiate level on athletic ability alone.
“Don’t be misled,” Perry said. “The days when athletic ability alone could get you an athletic scholarship are long gone. If you don’t have the grades to meet the entrance requirements for whatever school you’re interested in, it doesn’t matter how great an athlete you are. College admission offices will not admit somebody if their grades, their SAT, ACT, GPA, doesn’t meet their requirements. Colby understood that, and I know, because we track your grades. Colby understood that early, and he’s maintained that. He’s maintained a high GPA and a high ACT score, and that’s made him very recruitable.”
West Alabama, who went 6-5 in 2019, plays in the Gulf South Conference alongside schools such as Valdosta State University in Georgia, the University of West Georgia, Delta State in Mississippi, Mississippi College, North Greenville University in South Carolina and Shorter University in Georgia.
Perry, who coached in the conference for two years, called the Gulf South “a very high level of football.”
The West Alabama Tigers finished fourth in the Gulf South Conference in 2019, behind Valdosta State, eventual national champions West Florida and Delta State.
The Division II season was effectively cancelled in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
