Monday, May 11, 2015

The Lycoming Football Family morns the passing of Bill Small

#20 Bill Small (R) holds Head Coach Frank Girardi
(Photo courtesy of Lycoming Sports Information)
Lycoming Football sent a tweet yesterday as follows:

Shocked & saddened to learn of the passing of All American LB Bill Small this morning. RIP Smalley! You'll be missed. 

Bill Small, from Philadelphia, Pa., was a three-time All-MAC linebacker that left his impact on the Warrior defense. He recorded 202 career tackles, 15 interceptions and four sacks, earning the College's Defensive Player of the Year three times. A team captain in 1991, he helped lead the Warriors to three MAC titles from 1989-91 and the 1990 national title game. He was a two-time Champion USA All-American, earning third-team honors as a junior and first-team accolades as a senior. He was inducted into the College's Athletics Hall of Fame in 2005. Small is an operations manager at FedEx Freight in Delanco, N.J.


More about Bill Small from Philly.com October 23, 1990:

Heads-up, Hands-up Plays Gain Ex-falcon Praise At Lycoming

Linebacker Bill Small, a 1987 graduate of North Catholic, is making big plays for Lycoming College's football team this year. In a test of unbeaten rivals in the Middle Atlantic Conference on Oct. 13, Small returned an interception 12 yards as Lycoming defeated Juniata College, 31-0. The shutout was the team's second of the year and boosted Lycoming to 5-0.

"They were at their 20," Small said of the interception. "I was dropping back in the zone, and our pass rush had their quarterback on the run. He threw up a duck, and I just got underneath it."


"With Bill, the big thing is consistency," said his coach, Frank Girardi. ''You know he's going to be there, you know he's going to come up with the big play."

Small, who leads Lycoming with 40 tackles - five for losses - relies more on smarts than speed.

"He's got adequate foot speed," Girardi said, "but he's got great instincts. He's always in the right spot at the right time."

The interception was one of two Small has made this season; the other, against Lebanon Valley College, he returned 32 yards for a touchdown, the last score of a 17-0 Lycoming victory.

"I only had to beat the quarterback," Small said of his touchdown, "and he would have caught me in another 2 yards."

The 6-foot, 210-pound inside linebacker also has 2 sacks this season, although he rarely blitzes.

"I usually drop back and play pass defense," Small said. "I'm kind of slow, and I get kidded about it a lot."

Small is a senior majoring in business administration.

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From LycomingFootball.com - Our thoughts and prayers go out to the Small family.