OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE DECADE
OL: Laremy Tunsil, Columbia, 2013 class
Maybe the best football player to ever come out of Columbia County.
Certainly the best in the past decade.
Laremy Tunsil was the Florida Dairy Farmers Class 6A Player of the Year in his senior season after helping the Tigers post an 11-2 record on their way to the regional finals. He was also a USA Today All-American as well as a U.S. Army All-American Bowl selection that year after posting 90 pancake clocks and grading out at 93 percent as a blocker, one year having 100 pancake blocks with a 90-percent grad as a junior.
Nearly every big college was recruiting Tunsil, who was a five-star prospect and the No. 4 overall rated recruit by ESPN. Tunsil had several offers from Power 5 schools, eventually taking visits to Alabama, Georgia, Ole Miss and Florida State.
When National Signing Day arrived, Tunsil still kept his decision a secret. He ended up signing with Ole Miss, where he spent three seasons and received first-team All-SEC honors twice.
Following his junior season in Mississippi, Tunsil declared for the NFL draft. He was selected 13th overall by the Miami Dolphins, becoming the highest drafted Columbia alum ever.
Tunsil spent three years in Miami before being traded to the Houston Texans prior to last season. In his first year in Houston, Tunsil was selected to his first Pro Bowl.
ALL-DECADE TEAM
QB: Jordan Smith, Columbia, 2020 class
Leaves the school as the program’s all-time leading passer with 6,915 yards in three seasons, which included first team all-state honors as a junior and senior. Smith threw for 70 touchdowns and ran for 15 more, finishing with 1,112 rushing yards in his career. His junior season was his best, throwing for 3,600 yards with 35 touchdowns while rushing for 500 yards and seven touchdowns as he led the Tigers to as 10-2 record and a district title while being named the LCR’s Offensive Player of the Year. Smith signed to play with USF in February.
RB: Ronald Timmons, Columbia, Sr., 2012 class
His breakout senior year was record-breaking. Timmons set a single-season rushing record at Columbia with 1,811 yards to go with 22 touchdowns as he was named third team all-state. His best performance came in a regional final loss at Navarre, when he rushed for a career-high 260 yards.
RB: Tavaris Williams, Fort White, 2014 class
Set the school single-season rushing record with 1,819 yards in his senior year while scoring 21 touchdowns for the Indians, who won their first district title in program history that year. Williams’ senior campaign featured five games over 225 yards, with a season-best 374 and four touchdowns in a victory over Chiles and he finished his career with 3,583 all-purpose yards, including 2,897 rushing, 162 receiving and 524 on kickoff returns. He was named first team all-state as a senior and went on to play in college at Utah.
RB: Lonnie Underwood, Columbia, 2015 class
Set a school record with 36 touchdowns scored in his junior year while rushing for 1,764 yards in nine games, which was highlighted by a season-best 243 yards and five touchdowns in a win over Terry Parker. Underwood came back in his senior year and ran for 1,300 more yards and 25 more touchdowns. He was named second team all-state in both seasons and went on to play in college at Tennessee-Martin.
WR: Dallon Washington, Columbia, 2016 class
Had the best receiving season of anyone in the decade with 1,289 yards on 43 catches with 14 touchdowns as a senior. That was an average of 30 yards per catch as the Tigers won a district title and advance to the state semis for the first time since 1997. Washington was named second team all-state as well.
WR: Latrell Williams, Columbia, 2016 class
No one caught more passes in one season than Williams did this decade. His senior year saw him pull in 68 receptions for 1,027 yards and 10 touchdowns while running for two more. Williams was lethal on special teams too, returning two kickoffs for scores as the Tigers won a district title and advance to the state semis. After high school, Williams signed with Tennessee before transferring to Independence Community College in Kansas. He’s since moved on to USF.
WR: Michael Williams, Columbia, 2016 class
If you were creating a fantasy team from the past decade, Williams would be the perfect flex option. Williams caught 59 passes for 893 yards as a senior but was a threat on the ground too, rushing for 358 yards and five more schools as Columbia won a district title and advanced to the state semis. After high school, Williams signed with Georgia Southern before transferring to East Mississippi Community College, which eventually led to him ending up at Nebraska for his final two seasons.
WR: TJ Jones, Columbia, 2019 class
Stepped up in his junior season to catch 31 passes for 738 yards and six touchdowns in eight games on his way to being named first team all-state. Jones had a stellar senior year as well, finishing with 42 receptions for 833 yards and 10 touchdowns to help the Tigers win a district title. After high school, Jones signed to play at Penn State.
WR: Marquez Bell, Columbia, 2020 class
A four-year varsity wideout who leaves as Columbia’s all-time leading receiver. Bell finished his career as a Tiger with 148 receptions for 2,968 yards and 33 touchdowns and earned back-to-back first team all-state honors as a junior and senior. He was also the LCR’s Offensive Player of the Year this past fall after catching 58 passes for 1,126 yards and 12 touchdowns, one year after pulling in 52 receptions for 1,044 yards and 14 scores to help Columbia win a district title. Bell was originally committed to USF but flipped on National Signing Day to play for Cincinnati.
OL: Jonathan Dupree, Fort White, 2012 class
Was an outstanding center for the Indians at the beginning of the decade who also played a little guard. Dupree made second team all-state his senior season before signing to play in college at Glenville State.
OL: Deontae Crumitie, Columbia, 2014 class
A three-year letterman who was third-team all-state as a junior and first team all-state as a senior. Crumitie signed to play in college at Troy, where he started as a true freshman at guard before moving to center as a sophomore. He was named to the All-Sun Belt Second Team in his junior and senior seasons.
OL: Doug Johnson, Fort White, 2018 class
After transferring from Columbia following his sophomore season, Johnson allowed only one sack in his junior year at Fort White. Johnson was then named first team all-state as senior and had more than 20 Division I offers, eventually signing with FAU.
OL: Zac Bedenbaugh, Columbia, 2019 class
A four-year letterman who was a freshman starting tackle on Columbia’s state final four team in 2015. Bedanbaugh ended his career with first team all-state honors as he helped the Tigers win their second district title in four years, blocking for an offense that averaged 453 yards a game.
K/P: Brayden Thomas, Columbia, 2014 class
Kicked and punted for Columbia as a two-year letterman. Thomas averaged 45 yards per kickoff as a senior with 39 touchbacks, hit 59 of 60 extra points and 6 of 8 field goals. He signed to play in college at Air Force.