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2018 3* ATH Nathaniel "Nate" Watson (Miss St.)


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Auburn leads for versatile legacy athlete

Nathaniel Watson can play most positions on the field.

That’s what he does at Maplesville High School (Ala.), where he plays quarterback, running back, wide receiver, safety, linebacker, defensive line and kick/punt returner. Watson’s season stat line during his team’s state championship season are laughable.

When it comes to his next-level projection, college coaches continue to evaluate where they want him. Watson tends to work at wide receiver at recruiting camps, and he presents a red-zone threat with his 6-foot-3, 215-pound frame.

Auburn knows where it wants Watson, however.

Most of Watson’s communication goes through defensive coordinator Kevin Steele. Steele tells Watson he wants him as hybrid defensive player.

“They’re recruiting me as a safety-linebacker or the Money backer,” Watson told SEC Country. “I’m trying to play both sides, if I can, but I’ll be happy wherever they put me. … I talk with coach Steele a lot.”

Watson is listed as a 4-star athlete by the 247Sports composite rankings. He ranks as the No. 19 athlete and the No. 285 overall prospect.

The Tigers are a clear favorite to land him. Watson has legacy ties to the Tigers. His great-uncle was Tommie Agee. His cousin, Harold Morrow, also suited up for them.

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Auburn ATH target Nathaniel Watson (Chris Kirschner/SEC Country)

Watson names Auburn, Ole Miss and Mississippi State as his three top schools, but admitted Clemson, Georgia and Oklahoma could enter the mix with offers. There’s no question who Watson’s top choice is right now.

“Auburn,” Watson said. “Their environment, their coaching staff and the education they’ve got down there are great. … It would be pretty good to play on an Auburn defense. I mean, they get to play last game of the season against Alabama in the Iron Bowl, so that’s pretty good. That’s something I’ve always wanted to do.”

Watson will attend the Tigers’ spring game Saturday.

It will be his second visit this spring. Based on the team’s position projection, secondary coach Greg Brown has picked up his communication with Watson. The 4-star prospect hopes to return after the A-Day game to get more one-on-one time with Brown in the film room.

“Coach Brown wants me to get down so we can sit and watch film and go over plays, techniques,” Watson said. “They all tell me to just keep grinding. They always tell me they hope to see me up there playing in an Auburn uniform one day.”

 

 

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Why can't we get these legacy recruits on board? We should get them early so they can help recruit.

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21 minutes ago, kd4au said:

Why can't we get these legacy recruits on board? We should get them early so they can help recruit.

I'm not even sure he's a take for AU right now.

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6 hours ago, ellitor said:

I'm not even sure he's a take for AU right now.

What are we waiting on a three star?

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6 hours ago, ellitor said:

I'm not even sure he's a take for AU right now.

A little surprised to hear that. Thought he might be a target at safety. I guess we have guys higher on the board but seems like we may be missing on good players by slow playing them (see RB recruiting right now....). Oh well: "Trust the coaches!"

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4 hours ago, kd4au said:

What are we waiting on a three star?

He's not a take as a pure LB right now & I'm not sure what the safety board is like after Monday (the player not the day) and we are only taking 2 safeties also.

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9 hours ago, ellitor said:

He's not a take as a pure LB right now & I'm not sure what the safety board is like after Monday (the player not the day) and we are only taking 2 safeties also.

Yet, at some later point we'll be offering several prospects at various positions and saying we'll take the "best available regardless of position". Every year there's this  game of "only so many at such and such a position' and "being recruited as..". Sometimes I think the people making these "rules" need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.

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2 hours ago, Mikey said:

Sometimes I think the people making these "rules" need to take a step back and look at the bigger picture.

Making what rules? The total 85 limit and the yearly 25 new player limit?

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It comes down to 25 and 85. Because of attrition 85 is not usually an issue but 25 is. Garner wants 4-5 DL and I believe we want 2-3 CB, 2 Safety and 2 LB that is 10 to 12 on D alone. When you look at 3-5 O-Line, 1-2 TE, 1QB, 2RB, 2-3 WR, 1FB and you are looking at 10-14 on O. Each coach pushing for his players it is tough. These numbers are fluid and could change.  Looking at who will graduate each year and depth these numbers could change.  I personally believe need 3 Safeties and 3 Linebackers.  It is a balancing act any way the coaches do it could be right or wrong based on who leaves or who gets hurt.

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1 hour ago, AuburnNTexas said:

It comes down to 25 and 85. Because of attrition 85 is not usually an issue but 25 is. Garner wants 4-5 DL and I believe we want 2-3 CB, 2 Safety and 2 LB that is 10 to 12 on D alone. When you look at 3-5 O-Line, 1-2 TE, 1QB, 2RB, 2-3 WR, 1FB and you are looking at 10-14 on O. Each coach pushing for his players it is tough. These numbers are fluid and could change.  Looking at who will graduate each year and depth these numbers could change.  I personally believe need 3 Safeties and 3 Linebackers.  It is a balancing act any way the coaches do it could be right or wrong based on who leaves or who gets hurt.

Add to all this that as of now AU plans to sign 21-23 & not the full 25.

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He is a legit 4 star prospect. He is not some fringe roster guy like stephen davis JR was. He clearly wants to be at WR. Tell him what he wants to hear which is clearly WR and get him on board. MERCY! My world I have never seen another school have as much trouble with legacies and bungle things as much as we do. Make him a priority. He is a BIG wr. We need those as much as anyone. Dan Mullen is a lot of things but the 1 thing he does really well is evaluate offensive talent really well. If he is recruiting him as WR I bet he makes a good SEC wr.

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Until Gus starts getting our attrition under control and/or until we consistently hit the 85 mark without having to hand out scholarships to walk-ons, then there is no reason that we shouldn't be signing the full 25. 

We've been recruiting this kid for several months now, why not got ahead and get him on-board? He's talented enough to play several positions, so let him sign as an ATH and put him where we need him! We proved back in Frebruary that we're not going to get every guy that we want. So why not get the guys that we can get NOW and worry about the other guys closer to signing day. SMH

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Some parts of the world of recruiting baffle me:

4* athlete, maybe a receiver, maybe a hybrid D player....prob has excellent combine numbers.  Plays about half the stinking positions in HS.

A legacy kid who would likely help recruiting  very well....

very good size for either position.   

Color me confused. 

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FWIW guys there are at least a few 6'2 WRs & above higher on the staff's board than NW. We are likely only taking 2 tall WRs this year. Of the ones higher than NW we lead with Matthew Hill & were leading with Ross apparently before his Bama visit. We are also recruiting Seth Williams the hardest and if Bama doesn't decide to take him he could be ours.

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On 4/23/2017 at 5:48 PM, bigbird said:

He needs to be a take.

@bigbird I'm not sure coach Steele likes the tweener type players.  I personally think he's gonna be way to big for safety after a year of real training.  I expect unless he trains specifically for WR his playing weight will probably be around 230.  

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14 minutes ago, corchjay said:

@bigbird I'm not sure coach Steele likes the tweener type players.  I personally think he's gonna be way to big for safety after a year of real training.  I expect unless he trains specifically for WR his playing weight will probably be around 230.  

To me, he could be that Alec Ogletree/Kam Chancellor type of safety.  Both were in the 6'3-4" 200lb range coming out of HS.  We need an intimidator back there once Tre graduates.  

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5 minutes ago, bigbird said:

To me, he could be that Alec Ogletree Kam Chancellor type of safety.  Both were in the 6'3-4" 200lb range coming out of HS.  We need an intimidator back there once Tre graduates.  

I'm not disagreeing with you however like I said I think Coach Steele likes traditional types.  Wouldn't surprise me to see us sign on average 1 safety one year 2 the next and so on and 3 corners every year. Just think he likes the 6' 185 guys coming out of high school with speed, ball skills, and fluidity.  I'm not sure coach Browns preferences for DBs.

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1 minute ago, corchjay said:

I'm not disagreeing with you however like I said I think Coach Steele likes traditional types.  Wouldn't surprise me to see us sign on average 1 safety one year 2 the next and so on and 3 corners every year. Just think he likes the 6' 185 guys coming out of high school with speed, ball skills, and fluidity.  I'm not sure coach Browns preferences for DBs.

Agreed.

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11 hours ago, ellitor said:

Making what rules? The total 85 limit and the yearly 25 new player limit?

Arbitrary rules about how many per position and what position a player is "being recruited as". You know, the rules/statements that bite is in the rump every so often.

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19 minutes ago, Mikey said:

Arbitrary rules about how many per position and what position a player is "being recruited as". You know, the rules/statements that bite is in the rump every so often.

Ahh. Gotcha. Every team does it though & have been. We just know more about what staffs are looking for because there is soo much more coverage than there has ever been.

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Even with our attrition yearly which is to be expected and happens at every school you're doing a pretty good job of identifying and stocking talent if only one position (safety) is a little thin.  Great job by coach Garner for balancing our recruiting efforts since being the recruiting coordinator.  Hope it continues under new direction.  The big thing now is you can't strike out on a couple commits not performing to expectations a couple years back to back at the same position.  That's when you really get in trouble.

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