Football: Coats appointed to Naval Academy

William Coats, who played for the Douglas High varsity football team in 2006, has been appointed to the United State Naval Academy after completing the one-year prep program in Newport, R.I.

He'll report to campus the week of July 1 and plans to major in engineering after which he will pursue a career in aviation.

Coats, 6-5, 230 pounds, signed a Division I letter of intent to play football for Navy in February 2008 and played in all 11 games for the prep school team last season.

He was recruited primarily as a long-snapper and, with a snap time of 0.65 seconds, he stands a good chance of seeing some playing time for the Midshipmen this year.

Navy is coming off a successful 8-5 campaign in 2008 that included a bowl appearance. The highlight of the year was an upset victory over Rutgers. Their 2009 schedule includes traditional powerhouses Ohio State, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and Wake Forest.

Coats is the son of Carol Coats and David Wasick, who played football at San Jose State and later for the Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets and New England Patriots.

Coats' older brothers, David and Tyler, are in the Navy.

David is a Navy diver stationed in Bangor, Wash., and Tyler is a 2008 graduate of the academy.

He is stationed in Groton, Ct. for submarine officer basic school. From there, he'll move on to nuclear power training in Charleston, S.C.