As he announced on Instagram live Saturday evening, three-star ATH out of Central Catholic High School in Toledo, Ohio Jaylen Watson has committed to Iowa.
Listed as a wide receiver on Rivals, he chose to play defensive back for the Hawkeyes as opposed to picking one of the other schools in his top five: Minnesota, West Virginia, Cincinnati, and Maryland. Each of the other four programs offered him at receiver.
Watson began to take Iowa seriously when they invited him to camp at defensive back this June.
"At Iowa, I just like that they gave me a chance to showcase something different than receiver," Watson added. "They believed in me on the defensive side of the ball. I don't have any film on the defensive side of the ball. They wanted me to come down there and see me and work with me in person."
The Hawkeye connection was aided by the fact that his uncle Fred Russell played running back for the 2002 Iowa team that won the Big Ten Championship. Between 2001-2003, Russell ran the ball 523 times for 2,760 yards and 17 scores.
"Ever since I was a little kid, that's all my uncle talked about is Iowa, Iowa, Iowa," Jaylen told me. "Once he heard that I was going down to camp, he was blowing my dad's phone up all day I was camp. Ever since I got the offer, he's been blowing my phone up nonstop. He's been getting me any information I need to know. Everything he has said about Iowa has been good."
"The brotherhood factor stands out about Iowa," he said. "My uncle played there 20 years ago, and he still comes back every year with the same people he played with. So, I feel that's a brotherhood you don't want to look over. In college football, there are days that are going to be hard. You need to have people around you that you know have your best interest. That's something I'd definitely want to be a part of."
When Watson made it to campus for the big official visit weekend last month, he was sold on his decision to pick the Hawkeyes.
"Man, everything was great," Watson said. "The campus, the people, the players, the academics, everything was great."
"I already had high expectations for Iowa, but going on this visit, it exceeded everything I was going to be," Watson added. "It's definitely a place I can call home."
As Go Iowa Awesome's premium subscribers were made aware, Watson was FutureCasted to the Hawkeyes in early June.
Watson is the 19th commit on scholarship in the Hawkeyes' 2024 class. He joins a list of commitments that includes Rashad Godfrey, Joseph Anderson, Devan Kennedy, Gavin Hoffman, Reece Vander Zee, Michael Burt, Brevin Doll, Xavier Williams, James Resar, Derek Weisskopf, Cam Buffington, Preston Ries, Drew Campbell, Cody Fox, Josh Janowski, Bodey McCaslin and William Nolan.
