NATCHEZ —Natchez High School football player Mike Williams said he was surprised when he heard the news he was going to the 2019 National Combine for underclassmen in San Antonio, Texas.

“I didn’t know anything about the combine,” Williams said. “My dad texted me the invite late at night. I thought it was a fake at first, but then I clicked on the link, and it was sending me all of the information.”

Williams, Traylon Minor and Landen Sewell were three Bulldogs among 600 freshmen and sophomores in the nation chosen to play in the National Combine from Jan. 2 through Jan. 4.

In Williams’ first season with the Bulldogs, he caught 15 passes for 300 receiving yards. Williams even caught two passes for touchdowns in the season and totaled 500 yards on offense. Bulldogs Head Coach Roy Rigsby said the coaching staff is excited for Williams.

“Being a freshman and putting up the numbers he did, hasn’t been done in a while,” Rigsby said. “We’re really proud of him, and we expect him to continue to do big things.”

On defense, Minor made a total of 43 tackles for the Bulldogs this season. He caused two fumbles and recovered one fumble. Minor said he feels blessed to be able to showcase his talent at the Combine.

“I want to bring pride back to Natchez High,” Minor said. “I haven’t played in anything like the Combine for football before.”

Sewell was the center for the Bulldogs in the 2019 season. Robert Benson, Bulldogs offensive coordinator, said Sewell was able to stay calm in pressure situations for the Bulldogs.

“He stepped in as a true freshman and played center, the hardest position on the offense,” Benson said. “He did a decent job at the position.”

On the Bulldogs’ roster for the 2019 season there were 13 freshmen and nine sophomores. Rigsby said the Bulldogs played more freshmen and sophomores than in past years.

“A lot of times the talent or the skill set of freshmen is overlooked because most of the times you have an upperclassman that may be a little bit more dominant,” Rigsby said. “But we made a conscious decision to try and play more freshmen and sophomores this year.”

The three Bulldogs’ football players will show off their talents from Jan. 2 through Jan. 4 at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.