Sure-handed runner poised to be lead back
Tre Watson wasted no time correcting a reporter who asked this week if the Cal tailback had informed new offensive coordinator Beau Baldwin that he has the best hands on the team.
“Best hands in the country,” Watson said with a beaming smile. “Man, you’re cutting me short. … I’m perfect.
“A single drop? No, never. … Throw me the ball, and you’re 100 percent going to get a catch.”
The soon-to-be senior made the statement in fun after the Bears’ 10th of 15 spring practices, but sometimes, there’s a lot of truth within a little joke.
Anyone who has seen Watson’s diving catch that gave Cal a fourth-quarter lead over Oregon last season could be a witness in his case for best hands in the country, and Baldwin loves that his running back isn’t limiting himself to best hands on the team.
“Tre is a very confident young man,” Baldwin said. “That’s a good thing. It’s a fine line, but man, I want him on that edge with that competitiveness and confidence.”
After running for 709 yards and four touchdowns and catching 21 passes for 241 yards and four scores last season while splitting time with Khalfani Muhammad, Watson is primed to become the feature back in Berkeley.
With Baldwin acting as the running backs coach and the offensive coordinator, Watson has a direct line of communicating to lobby for more touches. It sounds as if Baldwin believes the 5-foot-11, 205-pounder deserves them.
“Tre is one of those guys,” Baldwin said. “He’s just so versatile. I’ve had really good backs in the past, but I still felt maybe they were lacking in a certain area. … Tre truly has so much versatility in terms of being an every-down back that you can call a lot of different plays with him. You can put him out at receiver, and he looks really natural doing that. Then, you can run stuff inside the tackles, and he handles that well. He can get to the edges well, and from a pass-protection standpoint, he’s competitive. …
“He’s one of those backs that I don’t look on a play chart and think, ‘Ooh, I want to get someone else in for this.’ He’s going to fit whatever we’re trying to call.”
Under the new coaching staff, Cal is expected to use a tight end more often and to run the ball much more than the “Bear Raid” offense that sprayed the ball to receivers. Cal was ninth in the Pac-12, rushing for 154.3 yards per game on 34.5 attempts last season.
Watson said the Bears’ new offense is mentally demanding, because there are so many variants of each play, but the coaching staff ’s emphasis on the running game has been obvious two-thirds of the way through the spring session.
“We’ve been running the ball a lot more than we usually do,” he said. “We’re excited to see what’s going to happen.
“This offseason was definitely key (to preparing for a heavier load). I’m faster, stronger and smarter.”
Watson said it feels like high school again.
At Centennial High in Corona (Riverside County), Watson went 52-8 overall with a 24-0 record in league play as a four-year varsity player. He rushed for 5,244 yards and 72 touchdowns, posting 23 games with at least 100 yards, nine with at least 200 and six with at least 300.
During his senior season, Watson set school records with 3,734 rushing on 9 yards per carry. He led the state in rushing and ranked second nationally.
“I’m more of a vision type of running back,” he said. “I’m more patient, but I know situations. If it’s short yardage, I’m going to wait a little bit, but I’m looking to hit that hole. It all depends on the play, but vision is my strength.”
Oh, and his hands.