Four-star senior offensive lineman William Putnam was presented his U.S. Army All-American Bowl jersey Thursday, Nov. 8 in the presence of his family, coaches and teammates.   

The All-American Selection Committee, comprised of 247Sports and All-American Games, evaluates thousands of the nation’s top prospects on an annual basis from the time they enter high school. The evaluations lead to the selection of the 100 best senior football players in the country.   

“Around the country, there are a lot of all-star games, and somehow you chose to be at this one,” head coach Robert Weiner said about Putnam in his speech before the jersey presentation. “I like to think the reason that you chose it was because the other games were all-star games, and this was an All-American game. There’s a difference between those two things.”   

The U.S. Army All-American Bowl is the most prestigious and highest rated high school sporting event on TV and has nearly five million viewers each year. The game will be held Jan. 5 in the Alamodome in San Antonio and will have over 35,000 fans in attendance, many of them service members.   

“Coming from a military background, he’s disciplined, hardworking, steadfast and dedicated to being the best,” offensive line coach Sean Love said. “On the field, he has more heart and determination and aggressive instinct than anyone else I’ve ever coached.”   

Just before his junior year, the Putnam family got transferred from Illinois to Tampa for his father’s job in the U. S. Army. The Army is incorporated into the game as soldiers are there to mentor the athletes during the game and the week before.   

“Having family members that have gone that route with their lives and that have sacrificed a lot doing that, I think it’s kind of cool playing in a game that can honor them,” Putnam said.   

When he enrolled at Plant, he already held 13 offers to play Division I football. Once he settled into his new school, he went on to win the Class 3A heavyweight championship in wrestling and continued his football journey.   

In his second year at Plant, Putnam has not only made an impact on the field, but he is also a leader in the locker room, as he serves as one of the team’s four captains. He has also assisted Weiner in being a counselor at a Muscular Dystrophy Association Camp. The U.S. Army All-American Bowl is more than one game; according to All-American Games, it is a year-round celebration of high school excellence on and off the field.   

“All-Americans possess some intangible characteristics,” Weiner said. “Some characteristics deeply rooted in their character, character that comes from somewhere … that comes from lives lived that say there is a greater purpose than just yourself. That there is something about being the best at what you can do and still being humble and self-sacrificial. That courage, that character, those personal traits, those are the things that make All-Americans.”