Cliff Attempts to Write a Sports Story: "Hometown boy shines for Seattle Seahawks, Opelika"

Hometown boy shines for Seattle Seahawks, Opelika

By Cliff McCollum
City Reporter

Sunday night, any Opelikian on Facebook or Twitter was privy to an interesting sight: local citizens getting deeply involved in a Seattle Seahawks game.

“First interception in the NFL! Game changer!”

“Shoutout to Will Herring of the Seahawks! OPELIKA BABY!”

“My dawg from Opelika … Will Herring #54 just picked Bradford off … Reppin' my city well.”

The inspiration of all of these quotes: current Seattle Seahawk and former Opelika High School and Auburn University football player Will Herring's interception of a pass intended for the St. Louis Rams Brandon Gibson during the second half of their game Jan. 2. The Seahawks went on to win the game 16-6, qualifying for the NFL Playoffs.

For Herring, it was just another game. For Opelika, it was a hometown boy shining on a national stage.

D. Mark Mitchell, sports editor for the Opelika Observer and host of the local sports radio show On the Mark, said he wasn't surprised at all to see Herring do so well in Sunday's game.

“He's just such a great person that could play wherever you put him,” Mitchell said. “Any position on the field, he could play it.”

Mitchell has observed Herring's sports career since he was involved in recreation league sports back in childhood, and said that one seldom sees athletes of Herring's make and caliber.

“He has the best work ethic of anyone you'd ever find. He's a great guy and was raised right. He has the right attitude and he puts in the work necessary to get the job done,” Mitchell said. “I'll bet if you asked (Seattle head coach) Pete Carroll, he'd say he wishes he had 50 Will Herrings on his team.”

Herring's entire family was in attendance for the game that evening, including parents Dr. Ron and Libba, siblings Laura and Rusty and their spouses, as well as Will's wife Ashley.

“When Will caught that interception, the end zone we were in started shaking,” Libba said. “All of us started jumping up and down. No one had a clue we were related to Will until we were still cheering and jumping three plays later.”

The interception was Herring's first in the NFL, helping to add to his stats that include 36 combined tackles this season.

Ron said he and Will's younger brother Rusty had the opportunity to be on the sideline for part of the game, and they got to give some familial advice to Will.

“Rusty said to Will what he's been saying for a while: ‘It's time to not just play the game, but time to make the play, player,” Ron said. “A few plays later, and, bam, there's the interception. There's the play.”

Libba said she and Ron try to attend as many games as they can, often seeing Will play when the team plays its away games.

“It's so much fun to see him play,” Libba said. “To see your kid live out his dream is just an awesome blessing. We all feel blessed.”

Libba said while Will may live in Seattle, part of his heart will remain here in Opelika, his hometown.

“He loves it when hometown folks come to visit and see him play,” Libba said. “He loves being reminded of Opelika.”

Ron said Will and the family feel blessed by the response and well-wishes they get from the community.

“I've had so many patients come in and say things like ‘I saw how well ‘Our Will' did…' He's not just our kid. He's the community's kid,” Ron said. “He's a product of this community, of this town.”

Ron also said Will gets chided by his teammates and the media in Seattle for being proud of his Alabama roots.

“They say he's always going on about the food back home, the hunting and fishing, and Auburn football,” Ron said. “He gets this reputation of being this country guy from Alabama, and he has no apologies about it. He loves where he's from.”

Mitchell agreed, as he was reminded of a speech Will gave to the Bulldog football team before one of its big games.

“He said that he was in the NFL and had played for Auburn, but he said his favorite place to play was Opelika,” Mitchell said. “He said playing for seven or eight thousand people who know you by name and not as a number can't be beat. The team went on to win that game.”

Mitchell also said you can tell Will's heart is still in Opelika because of the free football clinic he does every year for local kids with former OHS and Tuskegee player Sajason Finley, the “Back to the DawgHouse Camp.”

Libba also credits the foundation Will got in Opelika sports with his continued success in football.

“Will has had this opportunity to play because he had outstanding coaches at Opelika like Spence McCracken,” Libba said, “and great coaches when he was at Auburn, namely Gene Chizik, who was defensive coordinator for three years while Will was on the team.”

Libba maintains that Ron was Will's best coach, however.

“His very best coach was always his father,” Libba said. “If something went wrong, he'd tell Will to pick himself back up and move forward.”

Ron didn't necessarily agree with his wife, saying “He's always been coachable. We never pushed him toward anything, we're there to boost him and our other kids to be the best at whatever they want to do.”