South Fayette grad opening NFL eyes

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

All-American Penn receiver Justin Watson set a record that will never be broken last season. He was the first and only receiver in the long and storied history of the Ivy League to catch a pass in every game of his college career, 40 of them altogether since arriving on campus after graduating from South Fayette High in 2014. While completing that feat he also became the only player in Ivy League history to catch a touchdown pass in every game of a single season, 14 combined in 10 games for the Quakers last fall. Overall, Watson set Penn records for receptions (286), receiving yards (3,777), receiving touchdowns (33) and all-purpose yards (4,116).

Next month, Watson will graduate from the prestigious Wharton School of Business, but before donning the cap and gown for graduation ceremonies he is hoping to don the uniform of an NFL team. While the Ivy League is better known for producing presidents than pass-catchers, Watson could become the first player from Penn to be selected in the draft since 2002.

Watson is a 6-foot-2, 215-pound prospect with blazing speed — he ran a 4.42 in the 40-yard dash at Penn’s pro day as well as posting a 40-inch vertical jump — to go along with his production. He was not invited to the NFL combine in February, but he performed well at the East-West Shrine Game and the Senior Bowl and solidified his stock with an impressive pro day performance last month.

So how did an NFL prospect get overlooked by the major Division I schools during the recruiting process at South Fayette? That’s a question many college coaches are asking themselves after getting wind of Watson’s ascent in the draft in recent months.

Watson played on some talented teams at South Fayette that won WPIAL and PIAA championships, but he was overshadowed early in his high school career by receiver Zach Challingsworth, who was a year ahead of him and earned a scholarship from Pitt.

Watson had a good junior year, but apparently it wasn’t good enough to draw attention from big-time college programs. The only two Division I offers he received were from Akron and Buffalo of the Mid-American Conference. The rest of his offers were from Division I-AA schools. He decided on Penn because of the opportunities the education would afford him after his football career ended.

“I think I was a late-bloomer,” Watson said over the phone last week from Philadelphia where he continues his preparations for the draft. “I had a solid junior year, good numbers but not great numbers. I went to the Pitt camp and did well but not well enough to get an offer.

“By the time I was a senior I was already committed to Penn. That’s when I really started coming on. I set the WPIAL record for catches and touchdowns in a season. I was starting to get some more interest, but I was already starting to get to know some of my new teammates at Penn. I’m thankful those 1A offers didn’t come because who knows if all of this would have been possible if I didn’t go to Penn.”

“All of this” is the buzz that Watson could be selected in the middle rounds of the draft. He is currently projected as a fifth- or sixth-round pick by nfldraftscout.com. If Watson is drafted not only will he be the first Penn player in 16 years to get drafted but he will be the first South Fayette player selected in the draft since Jonathan Hayes was taken in the second round of the 1985 draft.

Hayes, coincidentally, was the head coach of the East team in the East-West Shrine Game in January and coached Watson that week. He is the tight ends coach for the Cincinnati Bengals.

Watson also has another NFL connection. Danny Ferens, the son of Steelers front office staffer Dan Ferens, was his teammate at Penn. Ferens brought Watson to the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex a few years ago for a tour.

“I was in awe as a Steelers fan,” Watson said. “I got to see behind the scenes, the weight room, where the receivers watch film. It was definitely cool.”

Watson got the tour again on Good Friday, only this time it was an official visit at the request of the Steelers. Watson met with coach Mike Tomlin, general manager Kevin Colbert and college scouting coordinator Phil Kreidler. He also met with Colbert at the Senior Bowl.

The Steelers could be in the market for a receiver because Martavis Bryant is entering the final year of his rookie contract and is not expected to re-sign. Also, Eli Rogers, the No. 4 receiver last season, remains unsigned after undergoing offseason knee surgery.

“I think I’d fit in pretty well there with my emphasis on blocking and my character,” Watson said. “That would be a dream come true.”

NFL draft analysts have compared Watson to former NFL receiver Vincent Jackson, who played for the Chargers and Buccaneers from 2005-16 after playing at Division II Northern Colorado. Watson and Jackson share almost the exact same athletic profile and posted similar testing results.

“He was a guy who could play outside or in the slot,” Watson said of Jackson. “I also model myself after Anquan Boldin. He played in the slot. It was never about his speed or his athletic ability. He was a guy who just always found ways to get open.”

In addition to his athletic profile and productivity in college, Watson also proved to be durable, which will be important to NFL teams. He never missed a game at Penn and has never had a lower-body injury.

The knocks against him are predictable. Some scouts continue to question the level of competition he faced in the Ivy League even though reports from the East-West Shrine Game and Senior Bowl suggest he matched up well with the other prospects there.

Watson is ready to prove himself all over again, just as he did four years ago after arriving at Penn as a two-star prospect. How far has he come in four years?

Watson was the 35th-best prospect in Pennsylvania as a high school senior. He is now the 28th-ranked receiver by nfldraftscout.com.

Add one more thing to the list that NFL teams will love about Watson: He’s a football junkie who would like to work in the game after his playing career ends.

“I think sports will always play a part in my life,” he said. “After hopefully a long career in the NFL I’d like to work in a front office, maybe in analytics and help a team continue to win games in another way.”