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LANETT — The Lanett City Council has honored one of the more celebrated athletes who has come through the city in some time.

Trikweze Bridges, who was recently drafted by the Los Angeles Chargers, was presented a plaque by Mayor Jamie Heard and council members in a recent ceremony at City Hall.

“We want to honor you and your outstanding achievements,” Mayor Heard told him as he presented him the plaque. “We are proud of the way you have representing Lanett High School and this city. We are so pleased to have members of your family including your great grandmother, Lorene Patrick, and your mother, Marcy Patrick, here with you today.”

Bridges was chosen by the Los Angeles Chargers in the seventh round of the NFL draft. He’s the latest member of his family to be drafted by an NFL team.

His grandfather, Perry Griggs, played for the Baltimore Colts and the Atlanta Falcons in the 1970s. He starred with the Lanett Panthers in the early 1970s before going to Troy State, where he was named the Gulf South Conference Player of the Year in 1974. He led the Trojans in scoring, punt returns and kickoff returns that year. His average of 28.0 yards per kick return led the nation.

Former NFL player Josh Evans was his uncle. Evans was a star defensive lineman at Lanett High in the late 1980s before going to UAB, where he was a four-year starter at defensive tackle. He later signed with the Houston Oilers and was with the team when they moved to Tennessee and became the Titans. He was a starter with them in Super Bowl XXXIV. That game is remembered for one of the most fantastic finishes in Super Bowl history when the Titans came up just short in the waning seconds of the game.

One of the biggest plays in Evans’ career came in the AFC championship game against the Jacksonville Jaguars when he tackled quarterback Mark Brunell in the end zone for a safety to help Tennessee to a win.

Trikweze’s dad, Tremaine Bridges, was an All-State quarterback at Lanett High.

“I have a great family tradition to follow,” Bridges said at the recent reception. “I am so grateful to be following in their footsteps. Like them, I’m proud to have graduated from Lanett High and to have done something I really love – to play sports. I would like to see future generations of kids from this city to enjoy playing sports the way I did and the way my grandfather, my uncle and my dad did.”

Trikweze played at Lanett High during a highly successful period in school sports. In less than 10 years, the Panthers won three state championships in basketball, two in football and two in track.

At LHS, Bridges set a state record for career interceptions with 36 and pick-sixes with 13. He earned all-state recognition three years in a row and was a consensus first-team all-state his senior year. He was rated a top 15 player in the state his senior year. He was rated a four-star prospect and the top safety in Alabama by ESPN.

He had offers from most of the top college programs in the country before signing with Oregon to play college football. From 2021-23, he saw action in 40 games for the Ducks before transferring to Florida to play his senior season. At Florida, he appeared in all 13 games, starting in the secondary for the team’s final seven games. He led the team with 70 tackles, made two interceptions, six pass breakups and forced two fumbles.