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There are times when National Scouting Report scouts sit down in a home to interview a multi-sport prospect and ask: “Which sport do you plan to play in college?”
NSR scouts expect the athlete to name one or the other and confess that playing other sports has more to do with hanging with friends than anything.
Then there is William Harwood.
When Chuck Howard, NSR Director of Scouting for North Carolina, posed that question to Harwood, a 2017 prospect from Pine Lake Preparatory School, in Mooresville, N.C., William said simply: “I can’t make up my mind. It’s either baseball or football. I love them both.”
Howard, a legendary former sportscaster in Charlotte, responded in typical style: “Okay, then let’s do both!” he said.
“I just did not want to tell this really good kid, who by the way is very good in both sports, that he would have to snuff out one of his dreams,” Howard said. “It just didn’t seem right, so I suggested that we promote him in both and see what happens. His parents went along with it and off we went.”
It’s easy to understand why.
On the baseball field, Harwood is “…the quintessential utility man. His superb athleticism is truly on display on the baseball field as the young man can play (and does) any position on the field,” Howard wrote in his NSR scouting report.
Harwood is equally talented in football.
“He is a young man that you’ll want to at the very least get on your board to chart his progress,” Howard wrote in his scouting report. “Named the Iredell County player of the year, this young man simply drips athlete. As you will see from viewing his film that as a ball carrier he is superb. Extremely athletic, he runs with power and, once past the line of scrimmage and has space, he is simply gone!”
Harwood said his versatility in both sports is what separates him from other prospects.
In his personal message to college baseball coaches, Harwood wrote: “I have played every position on the field and feel that I am skilled enough to play wherever a coach feels I can be best utilized for the good of the team. I am a strong contact hitter and run the bases extremely well. I have been the leader or co-leader in stolen bases on my teams each year I have played. I have been all-conference in baseball as a pitcher and third baseman as well.”
In his essay to college football coaches, he noted: “I consider myself a talented skill-position player who can excel at any skill position on the field. I have generally been used as a tailback and outside linebacker as well as the primary return man for both kickoff and punt returns and am often split out at a wide receiver position. I am an elusive and fast runner [4.6 in the 40] with great hands. As a runner, I am good between the tackles but have the speed and vision to get to the outside to outrun the defense.”
Retired Pine Lake baseball coach Coach Wendell Robertson couldn’t say enough about Harwood, who carries a 3.4 GPA and plans to pursue a career as a meteorologist.
“Will is an outstanding student, baseball player, football player and even more importantly a young man with great character,” Robertson said. “Will has excelled at academics, athletics, socially, and leadership. He has a presence that projects him as a natural leader that leads by example with integrity and determination. He is extremely competitive and has a tremendous amount of grit and desire.’
Harwood will be successful in either sport, Howard said.
“I am really enjoying working with this fine young man,” Howard said. “But get this: he is also a terrific basketball player. He actually had to narrow his sports down from three to two before enrolling with NSR. As for what will develop during William’s senior year, who can say? But whether you are a college football or baseball coach, what more could you want of a young man? He will be a tribute to the lucky program and school that lands him.”
National Scouting Report is dedicated to finding scholarship opportunities for athletes who possess the talent, desire, and motivation to compete at the collegiate level. We’ve helped connect thousands of athletes with their perfect college.