‘A perfect fit.’ TCU football lands highly touted DE Watson out of Hutto
College football recruiting never stops. That became evident once again this week.
As most fans closely followed the developments of how a few conferences plan to go forward with a fall season amid the coronavirus pandemic, TCU landed a high-profile defender for its 2021 class.
Hutto linebacker/ defensive end Landyn Watson (6-foot-3, 225 pounds) announced his commitment to the Horned Frogs on Wednesday, posting a short video on his social media page. He talked about his decision to join Gary Patterson’s program the following day.
“Me and my family just felt it was a perfect fit academically and from a football standpoint,” Watson told the Star-Telegram on Thursday. “Coach Patterson and Coach [Dan] Sharp have a great scheme in how to use someone like myself, a versatile, athletic defensive end. I felt like it was the right thing to do to commit to TCU.”
TCU has had success with Hutto players in the past, namely former wide receiver and returner specialist Jeremy Kerley. Watson hopes to make a similar impact as Kerley, although it’ll be on the defensive side.
Watson is coming off a 2019 season in which he had 50 tackles, including 14 tackles for loss, seven sacks, two forced fumbles, four fumble recoveries and two defensive touchdowns for the Hippos.
Watson believes he’ll finish his high school career strong this season, if Hutto is able to play. If not, he plans to stay in shape and join the Horned Frogs for the 2021 season.
“I’m a very versatile football player,” said Watson, who models his game after Texas A&M great and Denver Broncos pass rusher Von Miller.
“I can do a lot of things. I can move in space. I’m strong. I’m athletic. I’d tell TCU fans they’re getting a very athletic defensive end.”
A highly recruited one, too. Watson, who is ranked as the No. 28 weakside defensive end in the country by 247Sports, was committed to LSU before reopening his recruitment in December. TCU landed in Watson’s top six, along with Virginia Tech, Arizona State, Arkansas, Cal and Florida State, in May.
“The Frogs hit another home run for their defensive line with Watson. I love this pickup,” said Jeremy Clark, recruiting expert and Horned Frog Blitz publisher. “TCU beat out a ton of programs for Watson. I love his versatility and he has no issues getting to the quarterback. The thing that might impress me the most is his motor — the kid just loves to play football and you can see that on basically every play. TCU had a big need for finding at least two defensive ends for their 2021 class and they really did a good job of landing Watson and fellow defensive end Chris Murray. Dan Sharp did a tremendous job at landing both.”
TCU now has seven commitments in its 2021 class. The Frogs’ class is still ranked No. 90 in the nation and No. 10 in the Big 12 by 247Sports.
