LAFAYETTE — When you meet Lafayette’s William Perry, one question commonly comes up.
Was he named after ‘The Fridge’?
“All my coaches since the third grade when I started playing football have asked,” Perry said. “One of the doctors whenever they delivered me said, ‘you know, everybody's going to call the fridge, right?’ My mom said no, they're not going to call him that. My dad was like, yeah, they are."
William ‘The Fridge’ Perry was a legendary defensive lineman for the Chicago Bears in the 80s and 90s.
The Lafayette Lions' William Perry also has a way of imposing his size on the offensive line.
“I love being that wall between my quarterback and those defensive linemen who are trying to get through,” Perry said. “I also love the run blocking, getting to hit somebody, put your hands in his chest, knocking him over, and get a pancake. It's the best feeling.”
Perry knows how to move his weight too. He currently holds the school squat record at 615 pounds. His versatility allows him to play at tackle and guard. Perry was an All-Acadiana selection in 2021.
“It's the best feeling, very noble,” Perry said. “I definitely felt very validated at the end of the day. Getting to see all that hard work I put in, I earned that spot up there with the best of the best."
This version of the fridge is what you would call a smart appliance. Perry has a 3.7 GPA, a composite of 34 on the ACT, and has visited schools like Harvard, Princeton, and Yale.
“When I grew up in a family both my parents went to college, it was always an expectation for me to go to college,” Perry said. “I knew from the moment I started school that the goal was to get there and hopefully get to play football with it.”
The senior now awaits acceptance into the Ivy League and when that day comes, the emotions will be hard to quantify.
“It will probably be the best day of my life so far,” Perry said. “I've had dreams after I got back from that trip. Dreams of getting my acceptance letters, running around the school, and telling my teachers that I got accepted to one of the Ivy Leagues. It’s always been just a recurring dream since I got back from seeing those schools. It's been a dream.”
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