Desmond Watson opts to stay close to home, commits to the Gators
Over the past couple of weeks, the Florida Gators have enjoyed several key recruiting victories over a trio of SEC programs and an in-state rival.
During that span, Dan Mullen and company beat out Georgia for four-star pass catcher Marcus Burke, flipped Jake Slaughter from Florida State and landed Rocco Underwood, who possessed an offer from Alabama.
Now, after an announcement on social media, Desmond Watson is on board in the 2021 cycle as he committed to UF over Texas A&M. Watson, who was last listed at 6-foot-5, 320 pounds, is the 18th-ranked defensive tackle on Rivals.
Assuming Watson honors his commitment and signs with the Gators, he and fellow Florida commit Charles Montgomery will be the first players the program has signed from Armwood High School since Alvin Bailey in the Class of 2013.
Watson actually enjoyed a smooth, drama-free recruitment, which isn't necessarily a guarantee. The four-star defensive tackle dropped a top 10 last summer, a top six in December and then released his final three schools a couple of months ago.
Throughout this process, UF has been viewed as the favorite for Watson, but he never revealed as much in interviews with the media.
"Florida made the cut because just like the other schools, they have everything I need to be successful," Watson previously told GatorsTerritory after unveiling his top three. "(They have) great coaches, the right defense, and the right tools to develop me to be drafted."
Just over a week ago, Watson shaved LSU off of his list of finalists as he announced that Florida and Texas A&M were the two programs he was down to. Watson's head coach, Evan Davis, recently said it has been a pretty even race between both SEC schools, but it was the Gators that ended up edging the Aggies in this battle.
There were a number of factors appealing to Watson about UF: Close proximity to home, relationship with the staff, familiarity with the campus as he's made numerous trip to Gainesville in his recruitment and, as an added bonus, his mom is a "life-long Gator fan."
It's also important to note that Watson took yet another trip to the Swamp prior to the beginning of this prolonged dead period. His time with Florida's staff also featured a productive conversation with strength and conditioning coach Nick Savage.
"I got to talk more closely with coach Savage," Watson said after his trip. "That was good; I never really spoke with him one-on-one or whatever. But, I got to ask him questions and get to know some of the stuff that he does here.
"It's nice to know that he knows what he's doing. He's doing good. The difference from when [the players] first come in and the year after — or whether it's a month or a couple of weeks — it's always a big difference. So, it's good knowing that I'll be with a good strength and conditioning coach if I come here."
It's been well-documented that Watson is an absolute monster along the defensive line and clogs up a ton of space, making him an effective run-stopper. His combination of quickness and size has led to him being such a coveted d-lineman, and some time with Savage in the weight room should result in Watson taking his game to another level in college.
On top of what he brings to the table from a physical perspective, his head coach praised Watson for his football knowledge and his understanding of the game.
"I don’t think this is known as much, but his intelligence of the game is extremely high," Davis said of Watson. "He has a great football IQ—he knows what is going on not just at his position but all the other positions on the field too. Combine that with the size and the strength that he has. Obviously his size is important, but also he is pretty dang strong for his size as well."
Gator fans, be sure to check out Watson's junior campaign highlights in the video below.
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