EXCLUSIVE: Development, distance a key factor in Watson II's decision
Since taking the head coaching job in December of 2018, Geoff Collins has spoke in-depth on many occasions just how passionate he is about the job he has in front of him.
The development of the players, the recruiting of new ones, and being built up and shaped by the state of Georgia have each been major talking points throughout the years.
While already having added transfers during his time in Atlanta from several big-names, Collins added one of the biggest on Monday afternoon when former Top 150 cornerback recruit Kenyatta Watson II announced his decision.
Watson, formerly of the University of Texas, will add to the growing number of players from Grayson High School on the roster.
His decision comes just a matter of days after officially entering the transfer portal.
Watson spent some time last week with JOL to break down his decision to transfer to GT.
“It’s been a wild week,” said Watson after entering the transfer portal. “I’ve just been talking with my family, getting prepared to leave UT, and then things really started getting hectic when I officially hit the portal. That was when coaches were allowed to start contacting me. I started texting coaches, was on the phone with coaches, and was on the phone with my parents four, five, sometimes even six times a day. “
Watson already went through the recruiting process one time, and he had hoped that would be enough. He was not a fan of the process, and knew he didn’t want things dragging out any longer than they needed to.
“I never really liked the recruiting process,” he said. “It was a lot. I didn’t like all those people constantly texting my phone. I heard from Rutgers, NC State, Wake Forest, Tennessee, and a couple of other schools too as well as Georgia Tech when I entered the portal."
“I really do just want to be helped as much as I can be as a player, to be the best player I can be,” Watson said when asked what it was that made Georgia Tech the fit for him. “I feel like before I wasn’t getting the opportunity to be developed as best I could. I feel like Georgia Tech will be that place for me."
Watson continued discussing why Georgia Tech was his choice, and how it all came together as quickly as it did.
“It was the only other place that I could think of that would be able to do something like that with me. I’m more worried and concerned this time about specifically who is going to be getting me to where I feel I can be, and where I want to be Instead of it being about where I want to live, Or any of the other factors that go into choosing the school you go to originally. Georgia Tech is also 35 minutes away from where I live, so that played a factor too.”
In case you were wondering how big of a deal this was for Georgia Tech to be able to add someone of Watson’s caliber, his communication with GT has been strictly with one man, and one man only.: Coach Collins himself.
“So far I have only been talking with Collins,” he said. “It made me feel like a real priority talking directly with him.”
It wasn’t instant once he entered the portal though, the contact between him and Collins.
“It was either Tuesday or Wednesday. I kept GT in mind from the moment I hit the portal. I knew if I wanted a coach to develop me, a coach that I know who has put DB’s in the league, who to look for. When I was having that thought process, sure enough that was the same day he (Collins) followed me on Twitter. At that moment, it felt like ‘okay, well here we go.”
The two have some history that goes back to right when he first took the job, too. He was locked into Texas outwardly, but the message from Collins stuck with him throughout.
“I paid him a lot of interest and listened to what he had to say,” said Watson looking back to his days at Grayson. “I have always cared about being developed as a DB, and being able to be who I wanted to be. At that time I thought it could happen both at either Georgia Tech or at Texas at that time. I was already committed to Texas.”
The idea of Watson’s family being excited about him coming closer to home simply cannot be overstated.
“They are really happy about this,” said Watson. “They are actually going to be able to be around me more, do things together, and to be able to offer me more than what they could when I was in Austin. At Texas, it was mostly just a phone call, or a FaceTime call. Now it will be so much more than that. My dad was making a lot of trips back and forth from home to Austin.”
The answer to the question being asked in the minds of Georgia Tech fans across the world was simple from Watson. It may end up a moot point if the NCAA passes the one-time transfer rule, but Kenyatta has made it clear that he has a legitimate reason to come home.
“Yes sir,” said Watson when asked if he planned to file a waiver in an attempt to be eligible immediately.
Throughout the last few months, while several hundred miles away, Watson saw multiple members of his family test positive for COVID. All he could do was call them on the phone or on FaceTime.
That type of situation can wear on even the strongest of student-athletes and simply cannot be overstated.
Up next for Watson will be meeting his teammates, getting to know them, and moving his things back from Austin, TX to Atlanta, GA.
“I do know some of the team there already, but at the same time there is a good bunch of guys that I don’t know. I’m really looking forward to meeting my new teammates. Being a lot closer to home will also make it easier for me to actually connect with them (teammates) better than I could out here. (at Texas)
Watson was undecided academically throughout his time in Austin, but said that Sports Business or Sports Management were the two programs he is currently leaning towards.