Why Cedderick Daniels returned to the sidelines as Williston football coach

Seven years ago, Cedderick Daniels left Eastside. He was unsure he’d ever be a head coach again.

A few years ago, when college coaches found themselves in this situation, they joined Alabama’s staff under Nick Saban.

What did Daniels do? He did the Gainesville-area high school football equivalent of that and moved to Hawthorne under Cornelius Ingram.

Last week, he received his chance once again.

Williston hired Daniels last Friday to become the Red Devils’ new head football coach after six seasons on the staff at HHS.

Daniels called the decision to jump to Williston a “no brainer.” He had been discussed as a successor to Ingram at Hawthorne, who stepped down last month.

“When we played them in the fall, I thought it was a talented group of kids…young and athletic,” Daniels said. “When you’re looking for a job, it’s one of those situations when the program is ready to go.”

Robby Pruitt, in his return to Florida, turned Williston from a moribund program into a Rural powerhouse. Williston advanced to two Region Finals and the state semifinals in 2024. Pruitt, though, returned home to Union County in December. The Red Devils 2025 season ended in the Region Final at Hawthorne.

“He had kids believing in him, and they bought into what he was doing, which is the No. 1 thing,” Daniels said of Pruitt.

Daniels is off to a good start in that department. He said only two Williston players have transferred out of the program. He added they’re ready for the step up in competition with the move from Rural to Class 1A. Williston, unlike Union County, was one of the area’s four Rural programs that stayed in the FHSAA for football.

As Rams head coach from 2016-2019, Daniels helped turn around the football program academically and in terms of college prospects. He also coached Anthony Richardson to a commitment from Florida football, but he struggled to win games.

He collected a 15-25 record, bookended by a 1-9 record in 2016 and a 2-8 mark in 2019. He had two winning seasons in the middle, including a 7-4 record and a playoff appearance in 2018 with Richardson at the helm.

At Hawthorne, though, Daniels learned from Ingram and Greg Bowie the importance of brotherhood in high school football. He served as co-defensive coordinator from 2020-2023 and solo DC in 2024 and 2025.

“I think that speaks volumes for the program, and what we’ve done there,” Daniels said. “I want to carry that with me and build a staff of guys I can trust and build a brotherhood with them.”

He’s in the right place to do it. Like Hawthorne, Williston is a quintessential small town football program that cares about winning and is willing to fund the program to do so.

“The town shuts down Friday night, and you can see these people take pride in this school,” Daniels said. “Fans love the athletic department, and it gives them something to look forward to.”

Districts have not been announced yet for the new Class 1A, which includes Williston.

Noah Ram covers Florida Gators athletics and Gainesville-area high school sports for The Gainesville Sun, GatorSports.com and the USA TODAY Network. Contact him at nram@gannett.com. Follow him on X @Noah_ram1. Read his coverage of the Gators’ national championship basketball season in “CHOMP-IONS!” — a hardcover coffee-table collector’s book from The Sun. Details at Florida.ChampsBook.com

This article originally appeared on The Gainesville Sun: Williston football hires Cedderick Daniels from Hawthorne