Three-year starter at linebacker and team captain his senior… All-District 2001 and 2002… All-Westbank New Orleans 2000-2002… All-Metro New Orleans 2002… 2002 Orleans/Jefferson Parish All-Star Game participant who earned defensive MVP honors… played for Coach Don Wattigny... chose Clemson over Tulane, Michigan State, Ole Miss and Oklahoma State.

More on Watkins: Watkins set a school record with 160 tackles last season. He also had eight sacks and five interceptions. He had offers from Auburn, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, La Tech, Tulane, Louisiana-Monroe, and Indiana. Recruited by Burton Burns.

Quoting Watkins: “I like to blitz and drop off into coverage. I’m an outside linebacker. I’m versatile so I can do a little of everything.”

“I’m not used to seeing the mountains. The campus and the visit was nice. The players treated me well. Everything was just nice.”

“The think I need to work on is I need to get a little faster. Gain five to ten more pounds. I think if I go there and perform the way I think I can I should have a shot at playing early.”