Sidney Wells, a 2017 Clinton graduate and a member of the Arrows' 2016 MHSAA 6A championship team, brings back a wealth of football experience and knowledge to 401 Arrow Drive.
"I am back where I started, beginning my coaching career," Wells said. "I've been around the world and played against very talented individuals who are NFL rostered now. It is a surreal feeling knowing that the experiences and football battles that I encountered are coming with me here. I wouldn't trade this opportunity for anything.
"To know that I am back helping where I won my first football championship and to be able to help feels like I am giving back to this program that gave me so many playing opportunities," Wells added.
Kicking off a storybook career, Wells earned his first career start for the red and black against Greenville High School during his sophomore season. The offensive lineman, under the leadership of Clinton's second-year Athletics Director Judd Boswell, lifted the MHSAA Class 6A State Championship in 2016, highlighting the Arrows' 14-1 season. Wells earned Mississippi Association of Coaches (MAC) Class 6A All-State Second Team recognition his senior season.
Following his prep career at Clinton, Wells signed a football scholarship at MGCCC and started nine games his freshman year. In his sophomore season at MGCCC, Wells blocked for a team that averaged 211.6 rushing yards per game, 36.7 points per game, and 412.1 yards per game. The season ended with a 7-2 record.
The individual season garnered attention from several Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) programs, including Arkansas, Southern Methodist University (SMU), University of Texas-San Antonio (UTSA), and University of Alabama-Birmingham (UAB). Wells' recruiting journey landed on a resurrected UAB football program, signing a letter of intent in 2019.
While in Birmingham, Wells started in 36 games and was an integral member of the offensive line as the Blazers won the 2020 Conference USA Championship over Marshall. Wells earned First Team All-Conference USA recognition twice and was featured on the Outland Trophy Preseason Watch List, an award for the nation's top collegiate offensive lineman.
Wells pursued a professional football career after UAB. He reached training camps for the Canadian Football League's British Columbia Lions and Memphis Showboats of the United Football League.
"It is very hard to get in the professional ranks, and I reached the point where I realized I was ready to give back to football; to coach," Wells said. " I had learned a lot of ball from the greatest minds of college football. You don't have to be at a big school to know ball. Cameron Blankenship, Richard Owens, and the offensive mind of Bryant Vincent, all at UAB, put me in the framework to become a coach."
Now that Wells' football playing chapter has closed, Wells looks forward to imparting wisdom on the next crop of Arrows. The offensive lineman turned coach will assist Peterson with the offensive line along with other duties.
"I wanted to start in high school because I felt that I could provide a lot more guidance for the guys," Wells said. "I want to tell the guys, 'I have been through this process and this is what to expect. This is how to handle the recruiting process.'"
Turning the focus to the beginning of the year and expectations for the Arrows football program, Wells looks forward to seeing the growth the players will experience.
"I am excited about a couple of things. The growth of the guys I am get the privilege to coach this year," Wells said. "The guys I have gotten to know the vibes indicate that this group of kids are really good kids. I like how they get after it."
With a coaching career on the horizon and the first game nearly a month away, Wells, most importantly, is ready for the beams of light to flood over him as the Arrows take the field on Friday nights this fall.
"There's nothing like Friday nights," Wells said. "At any level, it is still football, but Friday night lights are the best moments of your life. It is a beautiful thing to see. High school footbal is probably football at its freest form."
