DEREK WATSON Running Back 1999 / 2001 Williamston, SC

Biography

South Carolina’s Mr. Football in 1998 and an All-State running back, Watson originally committed to Tennessee before Lou Holtz convinced him to come on board with the Gamecocks over the Vols, Georgia, N.C. State and Clemson. He had an immediate impact, rushing for 118 yards in his debut, playing in a torrential downpour at N.C. State. Watson didn’t break 100 yards again that year, but showed flashes of his talent. He was the full-time starter in 2000 and earned second team All-SEC honors from The Sporting News. He opened the season with a bang, picking up 93 yards and three touchdowns in a win over Georgia and then torching Eastern Michigan for 215 yards. Watson would also break the century mark against Kentucky (149), Arkansas (136), Vanderbilt (128) and Clemson (150). Watson missed the Outback Bowl that season due to suspension, but came back as the starter in 2001. He would have two 100-yard games: Kentucky (135, including a 58 yard run that provided the winning touchdown) and Vanderbilt (105). He was suspended before the 2002 season and transferred to South Carolina State. He had a tryout with the Patriots (2003) and was with the Buccaneers in 2005 and played two seasons with the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL (2009-10).

Prior Schools
School	Location

Roster Listings
Year	Roster	Num	Pos	Ht	Wt	Yr	Gms	GS
1999	Media Guide		RB	6-1	205	Fr
1999	Fall 1999	22	RB	6-1	205	Fr	5	5
2000	Fall 2000	22	RB	6-1	210	So
2000	Tennessee 2000	22	RB	6-1	210	So	9	9
2001	Spring 2001	22	RB	6-1	212	Jr
2001	Fall 2001	22	RB	6-1	210	Jr	10	10

Depth Chart Appearances
Description	Position	Rank
1999 vs Georgia	Tailback	2nd String
2000 Media Guide	Tailback	Co-Starter
2002 Outback Bowl	Kick Off Returns	Co-Starter
2002 Outback Bowl	Tailback	Starter

Honors
Award	Year
1998	Shrine Bowl
2000	All-SEC 2nd Team (Sporting News)

Recruiting Rankings and Honors
Source	Position	Rank
Athlon PreSeason National Top 294
Sporting News PreSeason Honorable Mention	RB

Passing
Year	Att	Com	Pct	Yds	YPA	TD	Int	I%	3D Att	3D Conv%	NEWS	Rtg
2000	1	0	0.0	0	0.00	0	0	0.0	0		0	0.00
Tot	1	0	0.0	0	0.00	0	0	0.0	0			0.00

Passing by Receiver
Year	QB	Rec	Throws	Com%	Yds	1D	TD	Success Rate
2000
	James Adkisson	0	1	0.0	0	0	0	0.00

Rushing
Year	Att	Yds	Avg	TD
1999	111	394	3.5	0
2000	187	1066	5.7	11
2001	139	618	4.4	5
Tot	437	2078	4.8	16

Rushing from Play-by-Play
Year	Att	Yds	Avg	1D	Neg Rush	NR%	Stuff%	10+ Yds	10+ %	20+ Yds	3D Conv%	TD
1999	92	339	3.7	15	19	56.52	33.7	9	9.8	2	62.5	0
2000	186	1067	5.7	50	28	51.08	32.3	31	16.7	11	57.7	12
2001	138	618	4.5	32	23	52.17	24.6	16	11.6	3	50.0	5

Receiving
Year	Rec	Yds	Avg	TD	Com%	1D	CDT	CD%	BP%
1999	10	55	5.5	0
2000	21	193	9.2	0
2001	27	218	8.1	2	73.0	13	11	45.5	22.2
Tot	58	466	8.0	2	156.8	13	11	45.5	10.3

Receiving by QB
Year	QB	Rec	Throws	Com%	Yds	1D	TD	Success Rate
1999
	Phil Petty	3	5	60.0	4	0	0	0.00
	Mikal Goodman	3	3	100.0	36	1	0	66.67
	Kyle Crabb	2	2	100.0	3	0	0	0.00
	Josh Rogers	0	1	0.0	0	0	0	0.00
	Kevin Sides	1	1	100.0	7	0	0	100.00
2000
	Phil Petty	18	24	75.0	134	9	0	50.00
	Erik Kimrey	3	3	100.0	59	3	0	100.00
2001
	Phil Petty	27	37	73.0	218	11	0	43.24

Success Rate from Official Play-By-Play Stats
Year	Pass Plays	Pass SR	Pass SPP	Rush Plays	Rush SR	Rush SPP	Recv Plays	Recv SR	Recv SPP	Recv FC%	Tot SPP	SPP/Play
1999	1	0.00	-1	92	43.50	34.69	12	25	-1.17	67	32.52	0.31
2000	1	0.00	-1	187	48.70	265.33	27	55.6	30.73	29	295.06	1.37
2001				138	47.80	145.82	37	43.2	25.17	41	170.99	0.98

Defense
Year	Solo	Ast	Tkl	TFL	Sacks	Int	PBU	QBH	FR	FF	BK	IP	CDS	RZS	IPP	YPT
2001	1	0	1	0.0	0.0		0	0	0	0	0
Tot	1	0	1	0.0	0.0		0	0	0	0	0

IP - Impact Plays; CDS - Conversion Down Stops (3rd & 4th Down); RZS - Red Zone Stops; IPP - Impact Play Points; YPT - Yards Per Tackle

Kickoff Returns
Year	Ret	Yds	Avg	TD
1999	4	75	18.8	0
2000	25	537	21.5	0
2001	13	384	29.5	0
Tot	42	996	23.7	0

Punt Returns
Year	Ret	Yds	Avg	TD
2000	3	38	12.7	1
Tot	3	38	12.7	1

Games Started
Date	Opponent	Position
1999-09-18	East Carolina	Tailback
1999-09-25	Mississippi State	Tailback
1999-10-02	Mississippi	Tailback
1999-10-09	Kentucky	Tailback
1999-10-16	Arkansas	Tailback
2000-09-16	Eastern Michigan	Running Back
2000-09-23	Mississippi State	Tailback
2000-09-30	Alabama	Running Back
2000-10-07	Kentucky	Tailback
2000-10-14	Arkansas	Tailback
2000-10-21	Vanderbilt	Tailback
2000-10-28	Tennessee	Running Back
2000-11-11	Florida	Running Back
2000-11-18	Clemson	Tailback
2001-09-20	Mississippi State	Tailback
2001-09-29	Alabama	Tailback
2001-10-06	Kentucky	Tailback
2001-10-13	Arkansas	Tailback
2001-10-20	Vanderbilt	Tailback
2001-10-27	Tennessee	Tailback
2001-11-03	Wofford	Tailback
2001-11-10	Florida	Tailback
2001-11-17	Clemson	Tailback
2002-01-01	Ohio State	Tailback

Single Game Rushing Stats
Season	Game Date	Opponent	Att	Yds	TD
1999	1999-09-04	N.C. State	15	118	0
	1999-09-11	Georgia	10	29	0
	1999-09-18	East Carolina	17	69	0
	1999-09-25	Mississippi State	23	70	0
	1999-10-02	Mississippi	11	12	0
	1999-10-09	Kentucky	8	30	0
	1999-10-16	Arkansas	3	13	0
	1999-10-23	Vanderbilt	7	16	0
	1999-10-30	Tennessee	11	23	0
	1999-11-20	Clemson	6	14	0
2000	2000-09-02	New Mexico State	14	114	1
	2000-09-09	Georgia	20	93	3
	2000-09-16	Eastern Michigan	20	215	3
	2000-09-23	Mississippi State	14	-1	0
	2000-09-30	Alabama	12	42	0
	2000-10-07	Kentucky	23	149	1
	2000-10-14	Arkansas	17	136	1
	2000-10-21	Vanderbilt	19	128	1
	2000-10-28	Tennessee	11	5	0
	2000-11-11	Florida	12	35	0
	2000-11-18	Clemson	25	150	1
2001	2001-09-01	Boise State	13	71	1
	2001-09-08	Georgia	8	13	0
	2001-09-20	Mississippi State	11	32	0
	2001-09-29	Alabama	9	24	1
	2001-10-06	Kentucky	16	135	0
	2001-10-13	Arkansas	9	31	0
	2001-10-20	Vanderbilt	15	105	1
	2001-10-27	Tennessee	17	75	0
	2001-11-03	Wofford	6	25	0
	2001-11-10	Florida	6	26	1
	2001-11-17	Clemson	18	54	1
	2002-01-01	Ohio State	11	27	0

Single Game Passing Stats
Season	Game Date	Opponent	Att	Com	Yds	TD	Int
2000	2000-09-30	Alabama	1	0	0	0	0

Single Game Receiving Stats
Season	Game Date	Opponent	Rec	Yds	TD
1999	1999-09-04	N.C. State	2	9	0
	1999-09-18	East Carolina	1	1	0
	1999-09-25	Mississippi State	1	5	0
	1999-10-02	Mississippi	1	16	0
	1999-10-09	Kentucky	1	11	0
	1999-10-16	Arkansas	1	7	0
	1999-10-23	Vanderbilt	2	3	0
	1999-11-20	Clemson	1	3	0
2000	2000-09-02	New Mexico State	2	30	0
	2000-09-09	Georgia	4	20	0
	2000-09-16	Eastern Michigan	2	7	0
	2000-09-23	Mississippi State	2	16	0
	2000-09-30	Alabama	4	67	0
	2000-10-07	Kentucky	1	12	0
	2000-10-21	Vanderbilt	1	6	0
	2000-10-28	Tennessee	1	5	0
	2000-11-11	Florida	3	14	0
	2000-11-18	Clemson	1	16	0
2001	2001-09-01	Boise State	4	40	1
	2001-09-08	Georgia	3	-5	0
	2001-09-20	Mississippi State	1	10	0
	2001-09-29	Alabama	3	50	0
	2001-10-06	Kentucky	3	25	0
	2001-10-13	Arkansas	2	19	0
	2001-10-20	Vanderbilt	1	7	0
	2001-10-27	Tennessee	5	36	1
	2001-11-17	Clemson	1	-1	0
	2002-01-01	Ohio State	4	37	0

Scoring Plays
Date	Opponent	Qtr	Time	USC	Opp	Play
2000-09-02	New Mexico State	2	10:06	15	0	Derek Watson, 1-yd run (Jermale Kelly reception for 2)
2000-09-09	Georgia	1	06:32	7	7	Derek Watson, 5-yd run (Reid Bethea kick)
2000-09-09	Georgia	1	03:15	14	7	Derek Watson, 2-yd run (Reid Bethea kick)
2000-09-09	Georgia	4	04:10	21	10	Derek Watson, 21-yd run (Reid Bethea kick)
2000-09-16	Eastern Michigan	2	10:04	14	3	Derek Watson, 16-yd run (Reid Bethea kick)
2000-09-16	Eastern Michigan	2	03:33	21	3	Derek Watson, 7-yd run (Reid Bethea kick)
2000-09-16	Eastern Michigan	3	07:53	31	3	Derek Watson, 65-yd run (Reid Bethea kick)
2000-10-07	Kentucky	3	01:37	20	17	Derek Watson, 58-yd run (Reid Bethea kick)
2000-10-14	Arkansas	3	03:33	27	0	Derek Watson, 68-yd run (Daniel Weaver kick)
2000-10-21	Vanderbilt	3	11:02	24	7	Derek Watson, 34-yd run (Daniel Weaver kick)
2000-11-11	Florida	1	00:06	21	3	Derek Watson 2-yd blocked punt return (Jason Corse kick)
2000-11-18	Clemson	1	01:59	7	7	Derek Watson, 61-yd run (Jason Corse kick)
2001-09-01	Boise State	1	09:58	7	0	Derek Watson, 16-yd pass from Phil Petty (Daniel Weaver kick)
2001-09-01	Boise State	3	08:08	26	7	Derek Watson, 6-yd run (Daniel Weaver kick)
2001-09-29	Alabama	4	06:28	30	36	Derek Watson, 2-yd run (Daniel Weaver kick failed)
2001-10-20	Vanderbilt	1	02:12	14	0	Derek Watson, 7-yd run (Daniel Weaver kick)
2001-10-27	Tennessee	2	00:26	7	7	Derek Watson, 7-yd pass from Phil Petty (Daniel Weaver kick)
2001-11-10	Florida	1	12:11	7	0	Derek Watson, 7-yd run (Daniel Weaver kick)
2001-11-17	Clemson	2	02:26	10	9	Derek Watson, 6-yd run (Daniel Weaver kick)
2002-01-01	Ohio State	3	05:38	28	0	Andrew Pinnock, 10-yd run (Derek Watson from Phil Petty 2 pt)

Receptions
Year	Date	Opponent	Down	To Go	Side	Ydline	Play
1999	1999-09-04	N.C. State	3	17	NCS	18	Derek Watson, no gain on pass from Phil Petty, fumble, forced by (B.Jamison) recovered by (B.Williams) at NCS 18
1999	1999-09-04	N.C. State	2	9	USC	49	Derek Watson, 9-yd pass from Mikal Goodman (D.Burnette) - SC clipping
1999	1999-09-18	East Carolina	1	10	USC	6	Derek Watson, 1-yd pass from Phil Petty (J.Kerr)
1999	1999-10-02	Mississippi	1	15	USC	24	Derek Watson, 16-yd pass from Mikal Goodman (S.Taylor)
1999	1999-10-09	Kentucky	3	21	UKY	49	Derek Watson, 11-yd pass from Mikal Goodman (Marlon McCree)
1999	1999-10-16	Arkansas	1	10	USC	24	Derek Watson, 7-yd pass from Kevin Sides (Quenton Caver, Kenoy Kennedy)
1999	1999-10-23	Vanderbilt	3	16	USC	24	Derek Watson loss of 3 on pass from Kyle Crabb (Jamie Winborn)
1999	1999-10-23	Vanderbilt	1	25	USC	43	Derek Watson, 6-yd pass from Kyle Crabb (Jimmy Williams)
1999	1999-11-20	Clemson	2	9	USC	43	Derek Watson, 3-yd pass from Phil Petty (Alex Ardley)
2000	2000-09-02	New Mexico State	1	10	NMS	22	Derek Watson, loss of 6 on pass from Phil Petty (Jamar Cain)
2000	2000-09-02	New Mexico State	2	7	USC	8	Derek Watson, 36-yd pass from Erik Kimrey (Jamar Lawrence)
2000	2000-09-09	Georgia	3	5	UGA	27	Derek Watson loss of 3 on pass from Phil Petty, fumble, forced by (Jamie Henderson) recovered by Derek Watson
2000	2000-09-09	Georgia	2	12	USC	34	Derek Watson, 4-yd pass from Phil Petty (Charles Grant)
2000	2000-09-09	Georgia	3	4	USC	36	Derek Watson, 6-yd pass from Phil Petty (Kendrell Bell, Will Witherspoon)
2000	2000-09-09	Georgia	2	15	UGA	48	Derek Watson, 13-yd pass from Phil Petty (Will Witherspoon)
2000	2000-09-16	Eastern Michigan	2	10	EMI	49	Derek Watson loss of 8 on pass from Phil Petty (Nik Buckheimer)
2000	2000-09-16	Eastern Michigan	3	5	USC	39	Derek Watson, 15-yd pass from Phil Petty (Terrance Dills)
2000	2000-09-23	Mississippi State	1	10	USC	11	Derek Watson, 11-yd pass from Phil Petty (Josh Morgan)
2000	2000-09-23	Mississippi State	2	7	USC	21	Derek Watson, 5-yd pass from Phil Petty (Ellis Wyms, Conner Stephens)
2000	2000-09-30	Alabama	2	8	USC	30	Derek Watson, 10-yd pass from Erik Kimrey (Kenny King, Saleem Rasheed)
2000	2000-09-30	Alabama	3	8	ALA	41	Derek Watson, 13-yd pass from Erik Kimrey (Adam Cox, Gerald Dixon)
2000	2000-09-30	Alabama	1	15	USC	46	Derek Watson, 30-yd pass from Phil Petty (Victor Ellis)
2000	2000-09-30	Alabama	1	10	USC	35	Derek Watson, 14-yd pass from Phil Petty (Victor Ellis, Tony Dixon)
2000	2000-10-07	Kentucky	2	7	USC	44	Derek Watson, 12-yd pass from Phil Petty (Gary)
2000	2000-10-21	Vanderbilt	2	6	VAN	18	Derek Watson, 6-yd pass from Phil Petty (Jamie Winborn)
2000	2000-10-28	Tennessee	3	2	USC	41	Derek Watson, 5-yd pass from Phil Petty (Eric Westmoreland)
2000	2000-11-11	Florida	3	6	FLA	42	Derek Watson, 7-yd pass from Phil Petty (Mike Nattiel)
2000	2000-11-11	Florida	1	10	USC	18	Derek Watson, 3-yd pass from Phil Petty (Alex Brown)
2000	2000-11-11	Florida	3	6	USC	24	Derek Watson, 4-yd pass from Phil Petty (Gerard Warren)
2000	2000-11-18	Clemson	3	3	USC	43	Derek Watson, 16-yd pass from Phil Petty (Bryant McNeal)
2001	2001-09-01	Boise State	1	16	BOI	16	Derek Watson, 16-yd pass from Phil Petty , touchdown
2001	2001-09-01	Boise State	3	6	USC	45	Derek Watson, 22-yd pass from Phil Petty (Wes Nurse)
2001	2001-09-01	Boise State	1	10		50	Derek Watson, loss of 3 on pass from Phil Petty (Julius Brown)
2001	2001-09-01	Boise State	3	3	USC	37	Derek Watson, 5-yd pass from Phil Petty (Andy Avalos)
2001	2001-09-08	Georgia	1	10	USC	7	Derek Watson, 1-yd pass from Phil Petty (Bruce Thornton, Boss Bailey)
2001	2001-09-08	Georgia	2	10	USC	16	Derek Watson loss of 4 on pass from Phil Petty (Tim Wansley)
2001	2001-09-08	Georgia	2	13	USC	42	Derek Watson, loss of 2 on pass from Phil Petty, fumble, forced by (Tony Gilbert) recovered by (Bruce Thornton), returned to SC 11
2001	2001-09-20	Mississippi State	2	12	MST	45	Derek Watson, 10-yd pass from Phil Petty (Demetric Wright, Pig Prather)
2001	2001-09-29	Alabama	1	15	ALA	23	Derek Watson, loss of 4 on pass from Phil Petty (Herschel Bolden)
2001	2001-09-29	Alabama	1	10	USC	27	Derek Watson, 27-yd pass from Phil Petty (Waine Bacon)
2001	2001-09-29	Alabama	2	5	ALA	29	Derek Watson, 27-yd pass from Phil Petty (Charles Jones)
2001	2001-10-06	Kentucky	2	18	USC	47	Derek Watson, 7-yd pass from Phil Petty (Jamal White)
2001	2001-10-06	Kentucky	3	14	USC	39	Derek Watson, 7-yd pass from Phil Petty (Chris Gayton)
2001	2001-10-06	Kentucky	3	8	UKY	20	Derek Watson, 11-yd pass from Phil Petty (Quentus Cumby)
2001	2001-10-13	Arkansas	3	10	ARK	31	Derek Watson loss of 2 on pass for Phil Petty (Jermaine Petty)
2001	2001-10-13	Arkansas	2	10	USC	32	Derek Watson, 21-yd pass from Phil Petty (Tony Bua)
2001	2001-10-20	Vanderbilt	1	10	USC	22	Derek Watson, 7-yd pass from Phil Petty (Aaron McWhorter)
2001	2001-10-27	Tennessee	2	12	UTN	38	Derek Watson loss of 7 on pass from Phil Petty (Eddie Moore)
2001	2001-10-27	Tennessee	3	7	USC	19	Derek Watson, 6-yd pass from Phil Petty (Rashad Baker)
2001	2001-10-27	Tennessee	3	11	USC	9	Derek Watson, 16-yd pass from Phil Petty (Rashad Baker)
2001	2001-10-27	Tennessee	1	7	UTN	7	Derek Watson, 7-yd pass from Phil Petty, touchdown
2001	2001-10-27	Tennessee	2	10	USC	5	Derek Watson, 14-yd pass from Phil Petty (Rashad Baker)
2001	2001-11-17	Clemson	1	22	USC	48	Derek Watson loss of 1 on pass from Phil Petty (Kevin Johnson)
2001	2002-01-01	Ohio State	2	7	OHS	33	Derek Watson, 8-yd pass from Phil Petty (Richard McNutt)
2001	2002-01-01	Ohio State	2	10	USC	7	Derek Watson, 8-yd pass from Phil Petty (Joe Cooper)
2001	2002-01-01	Ohio State	3	2	USC	15	Derek Watson, 7-yd pass from Phil Petty (Joe Cooper)
2001	2002-01-01	Ohio State	2	8	USC	10	Derek Watson, 14-yd pass from Phil Petty (Cie Grant, Kenny Peterson)

Defensive Plays
Year	Date	Opponent	Down	To Go	Side	Ydline	Play
2000	2000-11-11	Florida	4	10	FLA	35	Alan Rhine punt blocked by (Derek Watson) recovered by (Derek Watson), returned 2 yards, touchdown