Meet Jamar “Boogie” Watson, Kentucky’s newest football commit.
About three years ago, Watson enrolled at McNamara with hoop dreams, a big-bodied forward set on making his mark in the post. Interest from colleges began to roll in following a sophomore season in which he earned co-MVP honors, but none recruited the 6-foot-3, 220-pounder harder than McNamara football Coach Keith Goganious.
“All through my sophomore year, he told me why I should play and explained the future I had in both sports,” Watson recalled. “I decided to go out and play my junior year and I liked it a lot.”
Having played linebacker during his elementary school days, Watson wasn’t exactly a novice on the field, and his physicality and athleticism made him “a natural” at the outside linebacker spot, according to Goganious.
With Watson helping to anchor the defense, including a 73-yard interception return for a touchdown in the team’s regular-season finale last fall, the Mustangs clinched their first Washington Catholic Athletic Conference playoff berth in five years.
The momentum continued during the winter, when Watson traded in his football uniform for a basketball jersey. One day, while he was shoveling snow, his first offer came in from Old Dominion. Not too long after that, Kentucky, which happened to be in the stands watching Wildcats recruit Jabari Greenwood during McNamara’s basketball game against Gonzaga, expressed its interest in Watson.
“They told my coach that they had heard about me and wanted me to come out for a winter workout,” Watson said. “I guess they were impressed after that because they offered me.”
By the time Watson’s junior basketball campaign ended, he was left with plenty to think about regarding his future. He again earned co-MVP honors and averaged 11.4 points for the Mustangs, leading to offers from Towson and UMass-Lowell. But his football recruitment had continued to take off, as Virginia, Boston College, Miami (Ohio) and Rutgers joined his recruitment.
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