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Rams' Watts looking to make a name for himself in the NFL
• By Joe Lyons
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_5ae0ae25-03c6-5030-b6a3-98dc22805bec.html
Trey Watts, a rookie free agent running back with the Rams, has spent his life in the shadow of his father.
That’s because his father, J.C. Watts, casts quite a shadow. After a stellar high school career, the elder Watts earned a football scholarship to the University of Oklahoma and, as a wishbone quarterback under Barry Switzer, led the Sooners to back-to-back Orange Bowl victories while earning game MVP honors in both contests. Watts never played in the NFL but spent six seasons in the Canadian Football League and was the offensive MVP off the 1981 Grey Cup title game while playing for the Ottawa Rough Riders.
After retiring from football in 1986, Watts eventually turned to politics, serving four terms in the House of Representatives. Watts, who delivered the Republican response to President Bill Clinton’s State of the Union address in 1997, retired from Congress in 2003 and now works as a lobbyist in Washington.
Trey, who enjoyed an outstanding career after walking on at the University of Tulsa, said growing up as J.C. Watts’ son was a mixed blessing.
“My dad, being who he was, I got a lot an opportunity to experience and see a lot of things that most kids can only dream of,’’ Trey said during a break at Rams Park last week. “At the same time, I probably had a lot more attention focused on me than most other kids.
“My dad taught me a lot about life and about football. And because of what I’ve been through, I think it’s helped me prepare for situations like this, not being afraid of the spotlight and attention that goes along with being J.C. Watts’ son.’’
Tulsa coach Bill Blankenship has been friends with J.C. since they competed against each other at rival Oklahoma high schools and said Trey was hesitant to talk about his family background in his early days with the Golden Hurricane.
“As a walk-on, Trey was focused on proving himself and probably didn’t want anyone thinking that being J.C.’s son had anything to do with him being there,’’ the coach recalled. “But as time went on and Trey became more successful here at Tulsa, he became a lot more comfortable talking about his dad and their relationship.’’
A three-year starter at Oakton High in Virginia, Trey was drawing limited recruiting attention when his father reached out to Blankenship.
“He asked me to evaluate Trey’s tape and I told him that I liked what I saw but that we didn’t have any scholarships,’’ said Blankenship, who then served as a running backs coach and walk-on coordinator. “Trey’s high school team went deep in the playoffs that year, so when they finally were able to make a visit, we were hosting East Carolina in the conference championship game. We lost the game – one of those days when nothing seemed to go our way – and when the weekend was over, I figured that would be the last we’d see of J.C. and Trey.’’
But Trey, who was born and raised in Oklahoma, ended up at Tulsa as a preferred walk-on.
“It just felt like it was a good fit for me,’’ he said.
Watts’ career at Tulsa started slowly but steadily improved.
“He wasn’t real impressive that first fall, seemed a little roly-poly to me,’’ Blankenship recalled. “But as the season went on, working with the scout team, he really caught the attention of the defensive coaches and by that spring, he was our most effective back. Not a star, mind you, but certainly our most consistent guy.’’
Watts played in 11 games and made four starts in 2010 to earn a scholarship and started 12 of 13 games as a sophomore, leading the team in all-purpose yards from scrimmage (1,629). In 2012, he ran for 1,108 yards and caught 34 passes for 343 yards. He was named MVP after an electrifying 54-yard punt return helped Tulsa knock off Central Florida in the Conference USA championship game and was named MVP again after amassing 249 all-purpose yards in a Liberty Bowl win over Iowa State that capped an 11-3 campaign.
Tulsa struggled through a 3-9 season last fall, but Watts’ all-around solid play continued. The 5-foot-9, 208-pound senior rushed for 1,329 yards, caught 46 passes for 395 yards and finished with 12 touchdowns. He also led the team in punt and kickoff returns.
But despite his versatility and solid production in college, Watts was not drafted. Then again, neither were many other backs; through seven rounds and 256 selections earlier this month, just 18 running backs and three fullbacks were chosen. And the first off the board, Washington’s Bishop Sankey, did not go until No. 54 overall to the Tennessee Titans.
“That’s the nature of the position in the NFL these days, I guess,’’ said Watts, who worked out for Rams running backs coach Ben Sirmans before the draft. “It would’ve been nice (to be drafted) – that’s the dream, right? – but I’m really happy with the way things worked out. Everybody here, from Coach Fisher on down, has been great about showing us how it’s done and now it’s up to us to show that we can take what we’ve learned and start making a name for ourselves on the football field.”
• By Joe Lyons
http://www.stltoday.com/sports/foot...cle_5ae0ae25-03c6-5030-b6a3-98dc22805bec.html
Trey Watts, a rookie free agent running back with the Rams, has spent his life in the shadow of his father.
That’s because his father, J.C. Watts, casts quite a shadow. After a stellar high school career, the elder Watts earned a football scholarship to the University of Oklahoma and, as a wishbone quarterback under Barry Switzer, led the Sooners to back-to-back Orange Bowl victories while earning game MVP honors in both contests. Watts never played in the NFL but spent six seasons in the Canadian Football League and was the offensive MVP off the 1981 Grey Cup title game while playing for the Ottawa Rough Riders.
After retiring from football in 1986, Watts eventually turned to politics, serving four terms in the House of Representatives. Watts, who delivered the Republican response to President Bill Clinton’s State of the Union address in 1997, retired from Congress in 2003 and now works as a lobbyist in Washington.
Trey, who enjoyed an outstanding career after walking on at the University of Tulsa, said growing up as J.C. Watts’ son was a mixed blessing.
“My dad, being who he was, I got a lot an opportunity to experience and see a lot of things that most kids can only dream of,’’ Trey said during a break at Rams Park last week. “At the same time, I probably had a lot more attention focused on me than most other kids.
“My dad taught me a lot about life and about football. And because of what I’ve been through, I think it’s helped me prepare for situations like this, not being afraid of the spotlight and attention that goes along with being J.C. Watts’ son.’’
Tulsa coach Bill Blankenship has been friends with J.C. since they competed against each other at rival Oklahoma high schools and said Trey was hesitant to talk about his family background in his early days with the Golden Hurricane.
“As a walk-on, Trey was focused on proving himself and probably didn’t want anyone thinking that being J.C.’s son had anything to do with him being there,’’ the coach recalled. “But as time went on and Trey became more successful here at Tulsa, he became a lot more comfortable talking about his dad and their relationship.’’
A three-year starter at Oakton High in Virginia, Trey was drawing limited recruiting attention when his father reached out to Blankenship.
“He asked me to evaluate Trey’s tape and I told him that I liked what I saw but that we didn’t have any scholarships,’’ said Blankenship, who then served as a running backs coach and walk-on coordinator. “Trey’s high school team went deep in the playoffs that year, so when they finally were able to make a visit, we were hosting East Carolina in the conference championship game. We lost the game – one of those days when nothing seemed to go our way – and when the weekend was over, I figured that would be the last we’d see of J.C. and Trey.’’
But Trey, who was born and raised in Oklahoma, ended up at Tulsa as a preferred walk-on.
“It just felt like it was a good fit for me,’’ he said.
Watts’ career at Tulsa started slowly but steadily improved.
“He wasn’t real impressive that first fall, seemed a little roly-poly to me,’’ Blankenship recalled. “But as the season went on, working with the scout team, he really caught the attention of the defensive coaches and by that spring, he was our most effective back. Not a star, mind you, but certainly our most consistent guy.’’
Watts played in 11 games and made four starts in 2010 to earn a scholarship and started 12 of 13 games as a sophomore, leading the team in all-purpose yards from scrimmage (1,629). In 2012, he ran for 1,108 yards and caught 34 passes for 343 yards. He was named MVP after an electrifying 54-yard punt return helped Tulsa knock off Central Florida in the Conference USA championship game and was named MVP again after amassing 249 all-purpose yards in a Liberty Bowl win over Iowa State that capped an 11-3 campaign.
Tulsa struggled through a 3-9 season last fall, but Watts’ all-around solid play continued. The 5-foot-9, 208-pound senior rushed for 1,329 yards, caught 46 passes for 395 yards and finished with 12 touchdowns. He also led the team in punt and kickoff returns.
But despite his versatility and solid production in college, Watts was not drafted. Then again, neither were many other backs; through seven rounds and 256 selections earlier this month, just 18 running backs and three fullbacks were chosen. And the first off the board, Washington’s Bishop Sankey, did not go until No. 54 overall to the Tennessee Titans.
“That’s the nature of the position in the NFL these days, I guess,’’ said Watts, who worked out for Rams running backs coach Ben Sirmans before the draft. “It would’ve been nice (to be drafted) – that’s the dream, right? – but I’m really happy with the way things worked out. Everybody here, from Coach Fisher on down, has been great about showing us how it’s done and now it’s up to us to show that we can take what we’ve learned and start making a name for ourselves on the football field.”
