By Ryan Tipps
AgDaily
Were it not for the foundation that 4-H provided to Avery Williamson as a youth, the NFL linebacker might not have found his way back to the family farm in Tennessee as an adult.
Williamson, a free-agent linebacker who has spent the bulk of his professional playing career since 2014 with the Titans, is a fourth-generation farmer. His great-grandfather started the family legacy in agriculture, and his grandfather had a dairy farm and grew crops such as corn and tomatoes. Williamson and his father focused on cattle production — specifically black angus.
They also had three large gardens on the property.
“We loved eating out of the gardens,” Williamson said. “We had everything from watermelon, corn, peas, green beans, greens, tomatoes, onions — everything.”
It is probably of little surprise that, in the fifth grade, Williamson was drawn to the opportunity to build upon his agricultural background and to ensure a lasting support structure in this industry.