Name: Nick Watkins
Nick Watkins scouting report: Lock down 2014 cornerback
The Bishop Dunne product is one of the top players in the state of Texas and one of the best cornerbacks in the country.
School and hometown: Dallas (Texas) Bishop Dunne High School
Position: Cornerback
Height and weight: 6’1 and 185 pounds
Ratings: A consensus four-star prospect in the 247Sports composite ranking, Watkins is considered a top-15 player in the state of Texas by those rankings and a top-10 cornerback in the country. The composite has him as the no. 94 player in the country.
Offers: Watkins holds offers from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Texas, Baylor, Nebraska, Oklahoma State, Ole Miss, SMU, Stanford, Tennessee, Texas A&M, Tulsa, and UCLA.
Twitter: @CallMeNick_6x (protected account)
Highlights:
Nick Watkins 2014 DB/WR (Dallas, TX) JR Highlights (via 247SportsStudio)
Scouting report:
Long-legged and tall for a cornerback at over 6’0, Watkins may not quite be rail thin, but he’s not far off, either. As a likely boundary corner at the next level, he’ll be asked to do a lot of jamming at the line of scrimmage and will need to add a fair amount of strength to keep from being overpowered in those situations.
A long strider who has good top-end speed and solid short-area quickness, Watkins also plays some wide receiver for his school, always a positive way to develop good ball skills, which he shows off consistently in the redzone as a touchdown machine for Bishop Dunne.
In coverage, he’s a little bit straight up at times when opposing receivers come off the ball, but he’s fluid with his transitions and shows the awareness in man coverage to come off his man and intercept passes when the quarterback doesn’t recognize him getting underneath those routes.
How is Watkins as a tackler? Well, there’s no evidence of his tackling on film from his junior year, so perhaps he didn’t give up any completions. In all seriousness, it’s an area of his game that could be impacted by his strength and may need to develop in college, but that is obviously speculation.
All in all, Watkins has elite size of his position, though his first- and second-step quickness is slightly less than elite and his competition level in high school leaves quite a bit to be desired. Still, it’s not hard to see why he has such an impressive offer list -- he is indeed one of the top cornerbacks in Texas for 2014 and there is plenty of competition there.
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