Jamil Watson
Jamil Watson
About Jamil
Expert Analysis
Ian Guerin | Prep Redzone Scout
Watson had a couple of pretty good underclassman seasons at West Charlotte (N.C.) before making his way to South Pointe. As a freshman, he put up 73 tackles and 10 tackles for loss and then converted to more of an offense-first player who rushed for 655 yards and 10 touchdowns as a sophomore.
At South Pointe, he’s almost assuredly going to focus on defense as a linebacker or safety, and while that is still up in the air, but his athleticism is not. After the conclusion of his sophomore year, Watson’s film started leading to offers, and as of last count he was sitting on five NCAA Division I opportunities and counting.
We believe most of those are because of his defensive prowess. Watson is a menace in blitz packages off the edge, can roam the middle of the defense or stay with would-be pass catchers out of the backfield or elsewhere. His playing time is a big ol’ TBD after his transfer, but we don’t expect him to be a mystery in South Carolina for very long.
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Read EvaluationMatt Morrow | Prep Redzone Scout
Obviously, when there’s a shutout, there’s not a lot of bright spots. However, Jamil ran for 95 yards on 17 carries in this one, and he did his part to try and keep the chains moving for the Lions. I think in his future, Jamil will be able to star either on offense or defense with his overall speed and athletic ability. It will be fun to see ultimately what he plays on the college level, but he’s got two more years of being a major impact player in high school.
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Read EvaluationMatt Morrow | Prep Redzone Scout
Jamil became a bit of a short-yardage specialist in this game, as he finished with two touchdown runs where he ran through multiple Mustangs’ tackle attempts on both of them. I liked how decisive Jamil was in the running game, getting downhill immediately and being physical at the point of attack. Jamil also had some plays on defense, but his biggest impact was with the ball in his hands here. I spoke with Jamil after the game.
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Read EvaluationWill Helms | Prep Redzone Scout
We might eventually change Watson’s position in our system to linebacker, as that’s his best position, but we think he still has some offensive upside as well. He had a huge freshman year on the defensive side of the ball, racking up 73 tackles, including 10 for loss. He’s a stat sheet stuffer, forcing two fumbles, recovering another, and picking off a pass as a freshman.
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Read EvaluationMatt Morrow | Prep Redzone Scout
When you have a freshman 5th on the team in total tackles – a state-championship-winning team at that – then you know he’s a special player. Jamil made several contributions as the Lions had a strong season and an even better run in the playoffs to their championship. We left Jamil in the Athlete category because I think at some point in his career he could be an offensive contributor, but he did a lot of his work on defense and special teams. Jamil fits best right now as an outside linebacker, and he does a great job of tackling in space against ball carriers. Jamil shows good speed and has good coverage discipline – we saw him pick up his only interception live earlier in the season. Jamil has an exceptionally bright future in front of him.
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Read EvaluationArlen Harris | Prep Redzone Scout
#5 Jamil Watson 5’11 165lbs
Stats: 6 att for 48 yds
Highlight: 31 yard scamper
Watson comes out of North Carolina and was the thunder to Kemps lightning. Bigger body who was not afraid to stick his nose in and protect the QB. Was affective with his touches and pushed the pile when wrapped up. Showed off his long stride in the second half when a seam finally opened up for him to move the chains in a major way. I honestly felt for him, because the East staff strategically would bring in a lineman built fullback to punch it in from inside the 6 yard line twice . Watson could have easily carried these duties.
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Read EvaluationKeaton Donnelly | Prep Redzone Scout
gabe kWatson out of North Carolina is the total package at running back and is extremely talented. He has great size as well as speed to be a top running back in NC very soon. Also played very well at safety from what I watched. Overall total package at RB and can play other positions at a high level as well.
- Fast
- Athletic
- Lengthy
- great vision
- extremely strong
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Read EvaluationKeaton Donnelly | Prep Redzone Scout
– Played for the 13U NC Giants at AYF Nationals this year.
– Really talented Running back and Strong Safety.
– At this point, he’s the total package at running back. Great size/strength/speed/vision.
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Read EvaluationAlan Popadines | Prep Redzone Scout
This past summer I spent the better part of a week with the North Carolina Future Stars program, in Atlanta, Ga. Watson was not able to make any of the practices leading up to the first game day, due to previously scheduled events. However, when he arrived on game day, it was obvious this kid brought a different type of ability. He ran like a man possessed out of the backfield, picking up a ton of tough yards. When North Carolina needed it most, they put the ball in Watson’s hands and it paid off. He’s going to be a good one.
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