Gateway guard Alyssa Marino signs hoops grant to Embry-Riddle
Coaches, family and friends turned out Wednesday as two-way player Bryce Williams signed on to play at Middle Tennessee State next year. (Photo/J. Daniel Pearson)
Years of practice and preparation paid off for five Osceola County football players this week signed scholarship papers to play college football during the National Signing Day period.
In a Wednesday ceremony at St. Cloud, Bryce Williams inked a scholarship offer from Middle Tennessee State University. Earlier in the day at Osceola High, Jakyri Watson committed to the University of South Florida, Amier Clarke signed with Georgia Tech and Alijah Jenkins cast his lot with Atlanta Clark University.
On Friday, Gateway High center Collin Anderson signed to play at Brevard College in Ashville, N.C. During the week, Alyssa Marino, the point guard on the Panthers’ undefeated girls basketball team, locked in a scholarship to Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach.
For Williams, Wednesday capped a whirlwind career that saw him go from a player that had generated little interest from smaller schools to signing a Division I offer.
“I did not understand why more schools were not interested in Bryce earlier,” Coach Mike Short said. “He’s always been a tremendous player, a hard worker and an excellent student.”
Williams spent his first three seasons on defense but became a two-way player in 2025 and excelled on both sides of the ball. On defense he lined up at safety, corner, nickel or outside linebacker and posted one of the most prolific seasons in school history – recording 65 tackles with 21 passed defended and a school record and county-leading nine interceptions.
But with the graduation of several top receivers from 2024, Short made Williams a two-way player and he responded with 49 receptions and led the team in both receiving yards (804) and receiving touchdowns (9). He totaled 1,100 all-purpose yards and scored 13 touchdowns. In addition, he took over punting duties in the fall camp, where he averaged 50 yards per punt.
“He’s the type of kid that never wanted to come off the field,” Short added.
Williams said Middle Tennessee, a Conference USA member, made a late but strong push to make him part of their signing class.
“I fell in love with the campus and was really comfortable around the coaches, staff and players,” Williams said. “They told me they were projecting me as a corner, but I told them I would be comfortable playing anywhere. My goal is simply to work hard and try to get on the field during my freshman season.”
Williams is true student athlete, carrying a 4.1 GPA at St. Cloud and is schedule to graduate in the top 10% of his senior class.
Osceola’s Watson was a four-year letterman and defensive standout, who also ended up as a two-way player his senior season. He missed four games with injuries, but still recorded 35 tackles with a pair of interceptions on defense. He became a two-way player when injuries thinned Osceola at running back and receiver. In eight games, Watson gained 806 all-purpose yards in running, receiving, passing and returns – averaging 18.7 yards every time he touched the ball in helping Osceola to a 7-4 record and a regional semi-final appearance.
Watson had a huge junior season, with two interceptions and a team-leading 24 pass defenses as he helped Osceola to a 13-4 season and a 6A state runner-up season.
“I’m ready to start the next chapter in my career,” Watson said. “South Florida was one of the first schools to show an interest and they stayed with that interest and commitment all the way through.”
Although Alex Golesh resigned as the Bulls head coach to move to Auburn and Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline was named the new head coach on Wednesday, Watson said his commitment was firm.
“It’s more about the school and my comfort level with it. They re-committed to me after Coach Golesh stepped down so my commitment hasn’t changed,” Watson said. “To have a chance to play so close to home was also a major factor.”
Clarke is just the latest of many outstanding Osceola linemen to earn D-I scholarships. A two-year starter, he had a monster year in 2025 with 12 quarterback sacks and 23 additional tackles-for-loss. A four-year contributor, he posted 169 career tackles.
Among other things, he cited Georgia Tech’s academic reputation for one of his main reasons for signing with the Yellowjackets.
“You can’t play forever and a degree from an institution like Georgia Tech represents a tremendous opportunity. It will open doors for you professionally.”
Jenkins is projected to be a slot receiver at Clark Atlanta, a Division II member of the Southern Athletic Intercollegiate Conference. He said that Clark Atlanta “felt like home” on his visit.
An electric return man, Jenkins averaged 33 yards per kickoff return and 25 yards on per punt return during his two-year varsity career where he amassed 2400 all-purpose yards and scored 15 touchdowns. He rushed for 904 yards on 103 carries this season (8.8 avg.) and was the Kowboys leader in all-purpose yards (1,520).
“All the work these young men put in during their careers led up to today,” Coach Eric Pinellas said. “I am extremely proud of what they accomplished and was blessed to have coached them.”
Anderson, who saw the Panthers go from 0-10 to 5-6 from his sophomore to senior seasons, signed Friday with the Division III Tornadoes of the USA South Atlantic Conference. He spoke of “culture” being a big thing in his life, of why he said he stuck with Gateway and why he’s headed to Brevard, which boasts five former NFL players on its coaching staff, including offensive line coach Everett Lindsay.
“We changed how we played, and the coaches and players here became like family,” said Anderson, who said he plans to study exercise science and psychology. “The (Brevard) coaches said they don’t tolerate toxicity. When I told them I want to compete and want to win, (by their reaction) I knew that was the place.”
While he was Gateway’s starting center, Anderson said he’s been told to prep to learn all three line positions. GHS Coach Marlin Roberts said that won’t be a problem for his 2025 team captain.
“Collin’s one of the loyal guys who helped build our program back up,” he said. “Any program would want a building block like that.”
Marino, a four-year starter at point guard, will move on to the Division II Sunshine State Conference program after concluding her senior year at Gateway. She said she locked in on ERAU back in her sophomore year.
“I’d say both sides have been interested, and when I visited there I knew it’d be a great fit, since I wanted to stay in Florida,” said Marino, noting Southeastern University in Polk County also made a pitch.
She said ERAU has a Homeland Security track she plans to enroll in.
“It’s a good fit, a tough academic school to get into,” said GHS Coach Justin Marino, who also had perspective as a dad. “It’s just an hour and 15 minutes away from our house.”
Pinellas, Short and Roberts said they expect to have additional players sign during the winter signing period that begins Feb. 4.
