University of Arizona's family atmosphere sells Amphi star Watson on Cats

David Watson made the short trip to the Lowell-Stevens Football Facility last weekend, and he brought company. His mother, his father, his Amphitheater High School coach, some cousins and other relatives followed him into the UA’s football plant for a meeting with coach Rich Rodriguez.

Watson’s mother, Laura, asked Rodriguez the first question. His father, David Sr., went second; the rest followed.

Soon, David — an Amphitheater offensive lineman — spoke up. He addressed Rodriguez.

“I told him I’d taken visits to schools I’m interested in, but this is probably the most comfortable fit for me,” Watson recalled last week. “I’m ready to commit to be a Wildcat.”

With that, Watson — a 6-foot-6-inch, 290-pound junior — verbally committed to be a part of Arizona’s 2018 recruiting class.

Watson’s family rejoiced. Arizona had been David’s dream school, and his decision to stay home for college has been years in the making.

“It feels really cool, to be honest,” he said. “I’ve always kinda pictured this moment would come, but now that it’s here, it’s kind of hard to believe, actually.”

How Watson developed from an Amphi freshman to a player talented to play in the Pac-12, is a four-part story:

Wildcat blood

David Watson Sr. was a hot commodity coming out of high school. At 6 feet, 7 inches and 250 pounds, Watson — the pride of Atwater, California — was considered one of the top offensive linemen in the state.

He visited Stanford and planned to visit UCLA, Washington and Colorado State. Watson never made it past his second official visit; after touring Tucson, he canceled his other trips and committed to the Wildcats on the spot.

Watson was a UA junior when he met Laura Espinoza, a star softball player having one of the best individual seasons in NCAA softball history. Espinoza hit 37 home runs and drove in 128 runs that season, both single-season records that have yet to be broken.

“I was helping out with tutoring,” Watson said, “and the rest is history.”

More than 20 years later, it’s coming full circle for the Watsons — their son is now committed to play football at Arizona, and their daughter, Kristiana, is a star freshman softball player at Amphi.

They’re a Wildcat family, which is fitting: Family is what sold Watson Sr. on the UA in the first place.

“The thing is, I went to Stanford before, and everyone was in a big group. I didn’t feel important,” Watson told the Star at the time. “At Arizona, even coach (Dick) Tomey sat down with us one-on-one. It was family oriented. I liked that.”

Talent on the rise

When coach Vern Friedli was roaming the sideline at Amphi, the Panthers were one of Southern Arizona’s most prominent teams. The Bates brothers — Mario and Michael — starred for Amphi in the early 1990s before chasing college and professional stardom.

The Panthers haven’t been a real local contender since 2010. As recently as 2015 — Watson’s sophomore year — the Panthers were 0-11.

As Watson has risen as a prospect, though, the Panthers’ fortunes have begun to change. As a junior, Watson — who plays both offensive line and defensive line — helped the Panthers to an 8-3 record and a spot in the playoffs.

Watson spent time on every spot of the offensive line and contributed 53 tackles, 13 tackles-for-loss and three sacks while primarily playing defensive tackle.

Amphi coach Jorge Mendivil says Watson’s athleticism and agility stand out. Watson has also dabbled in basketball, volleyball and baseball.

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“He’s not a typical fat kid,” Mendivil said, laughing. “He’s very athletic. We were kidding about it, throwing the ball around this week and he said, ‘Hey, can I throw with the receivers?’ and I said, ‘I really don’t want to, because you’re going to make our quarterbacks look bad.’ That’s the kind of kid he is.”

Arizona took notice of Watson before his junior season. The Wildcats offered him a scholarship in February.

“To me, that was more of an emotional moment then him committing, just because we’ve been working and working and he’s had some obstacles,” David Watson Sr. said.

“When we got the offer, that was special. It was like, ‘OK, we’ve done it; now what’s next?’”

A different approach

Recruiting has changed since the elder Watson signed with the Wildcats in 1992. Beyond the proliferation of online recruiting services, rankings, college announcements and National Signing Day shenanigans, there’s an expectation that elite recruits (and their parents) will shell out large sums of money to attend various recruiting camps.

David Sr. decided that wasn’t going to be the path that his son would take. It was hard enough to afford those camps, anyway. David Sr. teaches at Amphi and serves as the Panthers’ offensive and defensive line coach.

“I always had this feeling that I knew he was good enough, and I always said the right school is going to find you,” David Sr. said. “Wherever that is, if you’re good enough, they’re going to find you.”

Watson attended some individual camps at Arizona, Oregon, Colorado and Arizona State. Every school showed immediate interest.

“It was kind of like … let’s be smart about it, make it efficient as much as we can with the resources that we have,” David Sr. said. “When it comes down to it, you’ve got to do it on the field.”

The moment he knew

Watson visited Arizona’s campus recently with his little cousin, Jacob, to watch spring drills. The two are attached at the hip.

“He’s my best friend. He’s 12 years old, but he’s a spitting image of me,” Watson said. “He’s just like me.”

The two joined Arizona’s offensive linemen following practice. Line coach Jim Michalczik asked Jacob, the youngest person in the group, to break the huddle.

“He got to say ‘O-line on 1, 2, 3,” Watson said. “That was amazing.”

That’s when Watson said it all clicked, when his decision was made.

“It was like, I’m not even here yet and they’re already treating my family like family,” Watson said. “That was probably the moment for me.”

He came to the decision naturally, too. Watson, Mendivil and Watson’s parents all say that they never pushed him toward Arizona.

“This may sound sacrilegious to U of A fans, but we were in no way pushing him to U of A,” David Sr. said. “My goal was not for him to be a Wildcat. Don’t get me wrong, it has a special place in my heart, but I wanted him to find the best situation for him.”

More than 20 years ago, David Sr. chose the Wildcats because he felt like he belonged. Now he has a Wildcat family of his own.

The younger Watson won’t be changing his mind, either. Even if a school like Oregon comes in late with a scholarship offer.

“To me I think of it as, right now I’m married to Arizona and I’m not going to go cheating on them with someone else,” Watson said. “That’s how I look it. I made up my mind — I want to be a Wildcat.”