Iowa has officially signed 2024 three-star cornerback, Jaylen Watson. The defensive back out of Central Catholic High School in Toledo, Ohio signed his letter of intent this morning.
Watson chose to play DB at Iowa over offers to play wide receiver for schools including Minnesota, West Virginia, Cincinnati, and Maryland.
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 told me after he received the Iowa offer. "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."
He impressed enough in the June prospect camp to earn an offer that he later accepted in July. As Go Iowa Awesome's premium subscribers were made aware, Watson was FutureCasted to the Hawkeyes in early June.
And after one season of playing defensive back in high school, his decision to flip to positions looks as though it may be a fruitful one. He registered 15.5 tackles and four pass breakups and allowed just one caught pass all season.
On offense, he hauled in 62 receptions for 1,102 yards, took 23 carries for 164 yards and finished the season with 16 total touchdowns. Ultimately, he helped the Fighting Irish to a state championship, as his team ran the table and finished the season 16-0.
If those numbers aren't enough to get Iowa fans to buy in, one familial connection to Watson just might.
Hawk fans who watched the early 2000s Hawkeye football teams will remember the name Fred Russell, who played running back for the 2002 Iowa team that won the Big Ten Championship. Between 2001-03, Russell ran the ball 523 times for 2,760 yards and 17 scores.
"Fred is my uncle," Watson. "Ever since I was a little kid, that's all my uncle talked about is Iowa, Iowa, Iowa. 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' 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. "He 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."
