Fremont High is less than five miles from USC, but it might as well be in another state because it was hard for inner-city Los Angeles football players to end up with the Trojans.
On Wednesday, Fremont All-City defensive end Andrew Williams signed with USC, the first inner-city signee since Hawkins High’s Joseph Lewis and Greg Johnson signed in 2017.
Fremont coach Derek Benton said he recognizes the importance of the accomplishment.
“It’s historic for the city and the school for an African-American to have this moment,” he said.
USC has signed City Section athletes in recent years. Anthony Beavers (2021), Joshua Jackson (2020) and Raymond Scott (2018) all hailed from Narbonne.
Williams is perhaps Fremont’s best college prospect since receiver Mark Bradford graduated in 2003 and became a standout at Stanford. The late Ricky Bell was a star running back for the Fremont Trojans in the 1970s before becoming the NFL’s first-round draft pick.
Williams is 6-foot-5, 220 pounds and had 10 sacks last season.
Williams, who has lived 10 blocks from Fremont with his grandmother since he was 7, said he didn’t discover football until his freshman year. He said he had too much free time before he reached high school and couldn’t find anything to focus on. USC assistant coach Chad Savage noticed him when he was an assistant at Colorado State.
Now he will become a trendsetter to show others the way to college.
This is a daily look at positive events in high school sports. To submit any news, please email eric.sondheimer@latimes.com.
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