Massive in-state defensive lineman Desmond Watson announces his commitment to Florida
Stopping the run is a critical component to winning games in the Southeastern Conference and teams simply cannot do that without having the big bodies on the line of scrimmage.
Dan Mullen knows that as well as anyone and that’s likely a big reason why his Gator program pursued Armwood High School standout Desmond Watson to join Florida’s latest recruiting class. Those efforts paid off on Thursday as the big Sunshine State native announced his commitment to the Florida program.
The 6-foot-5, 350-pound Seffner, Fla., native is rated as a three-star prospect, the No. 21 defensive tackle in the country and the No. 354 overall prospect in the 2021 recruiting cycle by 247Sports Composite Rankings. While Watson is currently rated as a three-star prospect, it’s important to note his national ranking put him on the cusp of being a four-star prospect.
Currently, Watson is the highest-rated three-star prospect in Florida’s 2021 recruiting class.
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To get an idea of what the big man can do on the football field, check out Watson’s junior season highlight reel below.
#3StarRecruitingMachine
I sound like a broken record, true but broken, lol
But it’s important to notice that this kid is borderline 4* tdow…
I must admit looking at his tape that he appears absolutely unstoppable against those tiny opposing offensive linemen half his size…I would comment on his elite sideline to sideline speed but the tape never showed him move more than 2 steps left or right…so we’ll stick with the description “massive”
Won’t need to run sideline to sideline. His job will be to clog holes up the middle and keep the linemen from getting to the second level, which will allow the fast LBs and DBs to run freely.
Is there a 6-5, 350 pound DT/NT somewhere on this planet with elite sideline to sideline speed? Derrick Brown and Javon Kinlaw ran roughly 5-second 40s at the combine.
4.9 40s for Brown
That’s pretty elite for his size don’t ya think, a mere .2 slower than Pitts.
40 time I saw for Brown was 5.16. Kyle Pitts 4.70.
And BTW, 0.2 seconds is pretty significant in a 40 time. Think 4.5 vs. 4.7, or 4.3 vs. 4.5.
Agreed, .2 seconds faster is indeed significant, as long as the QB has 4 to 5 seconds to throw.
Most of the difference in 40 times is at the start. Those big guys just don’t get up to speed in a straight-line race as fast as smaller guys. But reaction and quickness on the line of scrimmage at the snap has little to do with size or straight-line speed. A big guy can be plenty quick reacting to the snap even if he runs a 5.2 40-yard dash.
Plus, bigger quarterbacks like Trask and Newman aren’t exactly speed burners. The fastest big QBs are typically going to be around 4.7 to 4.8. Justin Fields is unusually fast for a QB at (I think) just under 4.6.
Agreed, the key to a QB is elusiveness. Burrow was a master combined with 4.5, Fields also (pre knee brace this past year). Jamie is around 4.7 to 4.8, Trask is elite DT speed…but for a turtle he’s quite elusive at times.
I’ll have you know Trask has run a blistering 4.81.
Was Derrick Brown chasing him?
Derrick Brown and Marlon Davidson definitely caught him.
More 3-stars than I’d like but it’s going to happen when you take a QB like Kitna just to have another body on the depth chart and a long snapper. Strickland is a terrible take, I just have to hope Hevesy knows something I don’t because Strickland’s film is garbage.
Complete opposite with Watson. Dude is massive and will almost certainly shed some of that bad weight once Nick Savage has him working out.
As for the other 3-stars, McMillon is a top-150 player on 247 but 3-star in the Composite due to a low Rivals ranking. Elksnis, Mitchell and Young all have good film.
Hopefully when all is said and done the class has a blue-chip ratio above 50%.
shhh – don’t tell anybody
UGA’s Jordan Davis, 2018 Freshman All-American, 2018 Freshman All-SEC and 2020 Preseason All SEC, was a 3-star
All comes down to evaluations. Quite a few recent UF draftees were 3-stars (Jawaan Taylor, Lamical Perine, Jabari Zuniga, Jachai Polite, Jonathan Greenard). And we’ve all seen 3-star heavy teams at Kentucky, Missouri and South Carolina pull upsets. But, generally, the recruiting site evaluators are good at their jobs and the more 4-star and 5-stars, especially for overall depth, the better positioned a team is to succeed.
Watson’s a 4 star on Rivals. It won’t take much to get his 4th star on 247.
Are you the same troll that used to go on Gator sites as a FSU fan and troll Florida fans? The one that left the Noles when they started to lose and became a Georgia fan/troll because you could no longer troll the virtues of FSU? I think you are.
TheDawgsofWar. Perhaps the best player on Georgia’s team, Eric Stokes, was a 3-star recruit. His composite rating was only 0.8578 and was rated the 669 best player in the country. And Greenard, Zuinga, and J.Taylor (first round NFL pick) were all 3-star recruits. And Georgia has had a bunch of 5 star recruits not do much. Florida is putting together a very talented group of recruits with outstanding potential for development. And one thing we know, Dan Mullen and his staff can develop players. Not a thing established about Kirby Smart yet. But we know he can recruit a bunch of 5 stars. Some leave for other schools and do better there.
I think you mean troll and broken.
Just 6 months ago he was rated a .945 and then he got dropped despite maintaining excellent stats. I still think he’s going to be a valuable contributor.
anand. You can see the power and the quickness in Watson. He needs some refinement of his body fat and needs to learn DL technique. Probably why he is only a 3-star now. But this kid has a world of potential and I can see why the Florida coaches recruited him (and A&M and others) so hard and why they are so excited about his future at Florida. Good fit. Florida really needs a nose tackle with some size to clog up the line. That has hurt them vs. Georgia (and LSU last year) the last few years. Slaton may finally be the man to do that this coming year.
Looking forward to Watson getting under the guidance of Nick Savage and then being coached up by Turner. This kid is massive and strong, but does not play with any technique. Relies on brut force to overpower lesser players. But he has enormous physical potential. Extremely quick for his size and so strong. If he works hard with Savage first and then learns how to play with technique, he could have a massive impact for UF. But a lot of work ahead of him. Going to the best place to get in shape with Savage and learn from one of the best DL coaches in America.
This kid had 34 tfl’s and 10 sacks in 2019 playing good comp Tampa area. Super underrated
Just the perfect NG to line up next to Gervon Dexter at the 5
It 3 whatever
The difference is that unlike the poodles University, players are developed at Florida. You develope baby cry dogs.
Come on man, it’s “puppy” and “develop.”
We don’t need our own Negan.
That is cojoneslicker
she is always creating juvenile profiles and babbling, stands out like a turd in a punchbowl
EVerYboFy NEEDS a NEGAN
Hey dummy stop stalking. That is definitely not me, although I do agree you mutts are a bunch of cry babies.
Moron