Michigan Football Recruiting: Brandon Watson — 2014 Time Capsule
Posted at 12:00pm — 2/11/2014
Michigan Football Recruiting: Brandon Watson — 2014 Time Capsule
Brandon Watson is already on campus getting ready for spring practice to start February 25th. While enrolled early not only gets him prepared for spring football, but also getting acclimated in a few classes as well and being a student-athlete at the college level eight months ahead of the normal student at the University of Michigan.
GBMWolverine Readers: Here is a overview of University of Michigan 2014 Signed Commit Brandon Watson.
Height: 5’11
Weight: 185
Birthday: July 11, 1995
Number: 20
Current Position: Cornerback
Future Position: Cornerback
City/State: Elkton, Maryland
High School: Eastern Christian Academy
Head Coach: Dwayne Thomas
Recruiter: Coach Curt Mallory
Official Visit: 12/13/2013
Committed: 6/29/2013
Top Offers: Boston College, Connecticut, Maryland, Rutgers, and Temple.
40-Time: 4.5
Class: 2014 Michigan Wolverine Recruiting Class (Signed).
Follow Brandon: on Twitter
Coach Hoke on Watson:
“Another young man from Eastern Christian Academy, Brandon came to our camp in the summer and impressed us. He’s a physical corner, has good size and is very athletic.”
Key Stats:
Came to camp last year and both him and his teammate (Freddy Canteen) both committed to Michigan.
Rankings:
24/7: .
ESPN: .
Rivals: .
Scout: .
Note: Stars do matter, but are not absolute in predicting success within a football program. So, with that in mind the GBMWolverine Staff has cleverly come up with a new system of ranking. We are using footballs instead of stars, how can one argue against a system that clever? Below are the interpretations of football power predicted way too boldly long before it matters. In other words, we will give informed opinion with the crystal ball and let the players determine what will happen through years of hard work.
Criteria: Raw talent, athleticism, position of need, intangibles.
10 footballs: Instant impact player.
9 footballs: Three or four-year starter at a high level.
8 footballs: A starter with all league potential.
7 footballs: A meaningful starter at some time during a career.
6 footballs: A spot starter or special teams player.
5 footballs: Not in the two deep after a two years.
4 footballs: Never made it.
1-3 footballs: See the above.
Remember just as we did during the season with grading positions or groups we are very tough graders and expect a lot out of those positions or players so this is no different here.
His Recruiting Story:
With him along with Canteen not getting a lot of exposure their Junior year of football season a lot of programs missed out on evaluating these guys unless they went to camps and luckily for Michigan their head coach decided to take them to the Michigan football camp to gain exposure not only by the Michigan coaches, but other coaches that attend this big camp.
His Commitment Comments:
Watson’s decision to go ahead and end his recruitment may have provided Canteen with the final Maize & Blue nudge. “We’ve been talking about (committing to Michigan) since we got the offer,” said Watson. “Freddy was looking at a couple of schools, and I was kind of leaning toward USC and Michigan. I just wanted to go out to SC and see what that felt like. When I came back I talked to coach I just said, ‘I want to go to Michigan.’ Freddy called about two minutes after and said, ‘yo, are you committing tomorrow?’ I said, ‘yeah.’ He said, ‘oh yeah? Me too!’ We basically told Coach Hoke ten minutes apart.” “It’s funny I just got the Tennessee offer this morning,” Watson later added. “I told him ,’it’s a little too late I’ve already made up my mind to go to Michigan.”
That news definitely got Brady Hoke’s day off to a good start. “His voice got high and he was really excited,” Watson said laughingly. “I got on the phone with Coach Mattison and he was really excited for me to come there too.”
We were impressed by the growth in Brandon’s game. His senior film showed a quicker, more explosive football player. He has noticeably thicker through his
upper body. Brandon Watson has good size and apparently impressed Coach Mattison during camp enough that Coach Mattison and Coach Hoke both were comfortable with offering a scholarship.
Overview:
Brandon is a high level athlete with a very good overall skill set. He is a solid package of size, speed and skill. Brandon probably could play either cornerback or strong safety at UM. Brandon has decent height, but he compensates with other skills and jumping ability. No grade point average has been stated, but his head coach stated that Brandon has a strong grade point average.
Strengths:
Brandon is an uber aggressive and physical corner. He uses his hands to jam well and has enough speed to maintain proper deep leverage. Brandon changes direction well, had good anticipation and shows excellent break on the ball. He excels at both man and zone coverage. Brandon has excellent agility and is loose in his movements despite a thick build.
Brandon plays mostly man in high school so his run support will need some work, so will his tackling.
Red-shirt or play his Freshman Year?
GBMWolverine believes he will definitely red-shirt his first year, but because of his physical maturity, Brandon could play if needed especially on special teams and needed for depth in the secondary.
Brandon Watson reminds the GBMWolverine Staff of — Former Michigan Football Player — Marlin Jackson — who played Defensive Back.
Video Highlights:
This could be a good get; Brandon has the overall athletic ability needed to play in today’s college game.
We welcome Brandon Watson to Michigan and hope he has a successful career on and off the football field as a student-athlete at the University of Michigan. Go Blue!
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Written by GBMWolverine Staff
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