COLLEGE FOOTBALL: WAVERLY'S WATSON SIGNS TO PLAY AT DIV. I UCONN; PREPARES TO ENROLL IN JANUARY (12 PHOTOS) (2024-12-18)
By TIM BIRNEYValley Sports ReportWAVERLY — Waverly senior Xavier Watson will graduate in January, and get an early start to his Division I football career at the University of Connecticut.
Watson, who signed a National Letter-of-Intent Wednesday afternoon during a ceremony in the high school learning center, is taking advantage of an early-enrollment opportunity to start his academic and athletic careers.
"I will be heading out in late January," said Watson. "(UConn) starts class on Jan. 21, so I'll be there by then to start classes and spring ball."
Watson, who chose UConn for a variety of reason (See story on
Watson's verbal commitment), said it was not an easy choice to skip out on the end of his senior season.
"It was a tough decision," he said. "No one wants to miss those last three months ... you can never get that back.
"But, I would have had to leave as soon as the school year was over anyway, so it's not a huge difference," Watson added.
Watson believes the positives outweigh the negatives.
"I think the biggest benefit is I'll have six months on all the other freshmen coming in and competing for a spot," he said. "I'll have six months to get use to classes, and figure out where everything is so I don't miss classes or workouts.
"I'll be able to get into the program, learn the playbook and learn the lifts early.
"It'll be a big advantage to get with the (UConn) quarterbacks, and against their defenses to get use to playing at the next level because it's a huge jump — it's not even the same game," Watson added.
Watson said he will maintain his rigorous workout routine as he prepares for the jump to Division I.
"I've been working on everything," he said. "I've been trying to get into the weight room as much as I can to get myself to the level the players are at there. I'll be playing a flex-tight end position, so that will include a lot more blocking than I've ever done before.
"It's a whole different game at that level," noted Watson. "It's a big jump, and I'm trying to prepare myself for that.
"I've worked for this, and done everything I can to get to this point, so I'm just trying to focus on doing everything I've always done," he added.
Watson, who is 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, said he doesn't believe he needs to get much bigger.
"I'm trying to get to 220 pounds for when I get there," said Watson. "I think I'll be able to play at 220, 225 ... then I'll stay wherever I can balance athleticism and size."
With his early departure, Watson will miss his senior basketball season.
"Not being able to play my senior year of basketball was probably the toughest thing about leaving early.
"I've always loved playing basketball," said Watson. "I use to spend a lot of time in the gym -- four or five hours a night before I starting picking up football
"It was definitely tough, but I think it was the right decision," he added.
Watson is the third Waverly football player to play Division I, joining Eddie Richardson (Class of '76), who attended Arkansas, and Vic Prinzi (Class of '53), who played QB at Florida State and is in the "Seminole Hall of Fame."
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IN PHOTO 1: Waverly senior Xavier Watson. IN TOP PHOTO: Xavier Watson is flanked by his mother Jamie Rauscher and sister Natalee Watson. ... PHOTOS BY TIM BIRNEY.
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