Weddington finds field, with a little family help
By Adam Carrington
MDJ Sports Correspondent
Football has always been in the genes.
Not only is the 6-foot-3, 195-pound Lawson
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Weddington built to play the game, but
he has a few relatives who have succeeded
in the National Football League.
Philadelphia Eagles’ safety Andrew
Adams and free agent linebacker Alec
Ogletree are first cousins and former
Chicago Bears’ running back Matt Forte
is a second cousin on his mother’s side
of the family.
“With those three guys, you can see
it in the genes,” Pope coach Tab Griffin
said. “Looking at Lawson and his body
type, there is football somewhere in that
family”
It wasn’t until a year ago that his
mother finally gave the OK for him to
suit up and join the Pope football team.
He said his three NFL relatives helped
persuade her.
“My mom one day says, ‘I’ll let you play,’
and I signed up that day,” Weddington
said. “It was time.”
After going through growing pains his
junior year, Weddington is expected to
get ample playing time his senior season
at linebacker, safety and wide receiver.
His late start in football was partly
due to logistics. Having Weddington
and his older brother Langston stick
with one sport, which was swimming,
helped reduce after-school travel to
and from practices.
Weddington’s said his heart was never
into swimming, even though he excelled.
He won the 100-yard butterfly
in the Cobb County championships in
2019, helping Pope win its first county
title in 13 seasons.
Still, football has always been his first love.
“My mom didn’t want to take me to football
and basketball practice and my brother
to swim practice, so I had to swim,” he
said. “Once (Langston) finally started driving,
I was able to do other sports.”
Weddington’s late start had its disadvantages.
When he first got on the field,
he said he was often out of position and
doing his own thing, but the Pope coaches
stuck with him and showed him the basic
fundamentals.
He picked up on technique fairly easy.
His size and speed will be an asset on both
sides of the ball. He can also tackle well
for a second-year player.
Weddington said his professional football
cousins were thrilled when they heard
he was playing football. All three were
invited to work out with him, and they
gave him pointers and drills to work on,
such as ladders and using parachutes for
speed. They also advised him to flip his
hips on defense.
“Any questions I had, I could just call
them,” Weddington said. “I was always
at Alec’s house every week last year. Anything
I needed to know, he’d let me know
right away.”
As much as he chats with his cousins,
Weddington said they never share much
about their own NFL experiences. However,
Adams did open up about Tom Brady’s
preparations for each game during his seasons
with the Patriots.
Weddington said he continues to speak
with his cousins over the summer. He
spent time with all three on the Fourth
of July. He works out often with Adams
and with Ogletree on occasion.With Forte
living in Chicago, he doesn’t see him as
much, but said the two communicate on
Face Time.
“We actually don’t talk about football very
often, but when we do it’s when I have a
question and they answer it,” Weddington
said. “They give me all sorts of great advice,
but it comes to mental preparation,
physical preparation, how to take care of
your body, staying fresh and prepared.”