After making the first touchdown of the 2023-2024 football season, running back Derrick Williams, more commonly known as D2, agreed to let me interview him.
Derrick used to play for Palm Beach Lakes. For his Junior year, however, Derrick started attending Santaluces as a transfer-student athlete. It’s now his senior year and his last high school football season. When asked how he sees his future, he stated, “Once I graduate, I would like to attend BAMA for college, go D1, and play in the NFL.”
Derrick began playing football at the age of five. Since then, he’s learned a lot, such as how to run the ball properly, read the field, catch techniques, and many other things that help keep him a valuable asset on the team.
Derrick has grown a close bond with his teammates and coach during his time here. He said, “My favorite thing about SHS football is my coach, Coach Hector. He allows us to talk with him and then helps us improve in different skills. I also enjoy having a supportive team that I see as my family [that’ll] always cheering on for me and encouraging me to keep going.”
Football means everything to him: it has impacted his life in many ways. It has helped him put his name out there and become recognized. He loves the game, and his favorite part of winning is seeing the other team’s faces drop after being doubted by them.
Since this is his last year, I asked him: “How do you plan to make this the best season?” He answered, “I plan on carrying the team to the State Championships.” If he had one piece of advice to give to new-coming players, he said it would be to “Just keep going no matter what.” We look forward to seeing Derrick Williams set his goal of making this the best season!
