The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/144506
commitment profile Film Evaluation Strengths: Watson has good height and length at the cornerback position, something that the Michigan coaching staff stresses. That allows him to high-point the ball instead of being out-jumped by taller wide receivers. His mass also allows him to be a physical corner off the line and come up in run support. He has excellent makeup speed if he's beaten off the line or on a break, and closes to the ball very well. Areas Of Improvement: Watson's makeup speed is important, because he does not have exceptional hip flexibility. Loosening up those hips will allow him to be a bigger factor in true man-to-man coverage. Watson is also relatively inexperienced at the high school level after playing only three games during his junior year. Establishing comfort on the field in defensive schemes will allow him to let his instincts take over so he can play faster. Michigan Player Comparison: Grant Mason (2004-05) spent a limited time at Michigan after transferring from Stanford. He was a special teams ace thanks to his speed, though he wasn't in the system long enough to make a defensive impact. Playing his whole career at Michigan should give Watson the opportunity to outshine Mason. — Analysis from TheWolverine.com football arm of an online home-school institution called National Connec‑ tions Academy, was not approved by the Maryland high school athletics governing body until after the season, so the fall schedule for the team con‑ sisted only of a handful of out-of-state games. Now, with full approval from the state, the Honey Badgers are ready to get on the field in 2013. For Watson, that's one last opportunity to get on the high school gridiron. "We're going to play a full sched‑ ule," Watson said. "I'm looking to improve. This is my last year of high school football, and I want to play against some great receivers. I'm just hoping they make me better as I make them better, too. "Last fall, we got better every day from competing in practice and do‑ ing a whole bunch of things with our teammates. Everybody makes the other person better on our team. That's the way we look at it. When we practice together, we push the next guy, and it gets real competitive." His competitive urges will extend into Watson's college career, as well. Playing alongside an elite corner like Peppers will help Watson push him‑ self every day, and squaring off with a number of top-notch receivers and quarterbacks in practice will help de‑ velop the team's overall quality, in ad‑ dition to his own. Watson's already used to facing top-flight receivers in practice. He and Canteen have been competing for years now, and that friendly rivalry will continue at the next level. — Tim Sullivan