Washington Huskies 2012 Evaluations: CB Tre Watson

October 6, 2012; Eugene, OR, USA; Washington Huskies linebacker Thomas Tutogi (50) and cornerback Tre Watson (32) tackle Oregon Ducks running back De

Statistics: 23 total tackles, 1 interception, 0 sacks.

What He Did In 2012: Watson walked on as a transfer from Central Washington, and then managed to fight his way into a starting spot early in 2012. That hard work paid off in the form of a scholarship, and the feel good story was talked about a lot through the first half of the season. However, Watson’s play was inconsistent and he later lost his starting spot to Marcus Peters, though Peters also struggled a bit with inconsistency, which meant that Watson still saw the field a great deal of the time.

What I Expect Of Him In 2013: Really tough to tell, honestly. In fact, it’s not even certain that Watson will be a scholarship player next year, as walk-ons given scholarships have their status reevaluated before each year. One strike against Watson going forward: he’s only 5’9″. With three different corners coming in as part of the ’13 recruiting class that are at least 6’1″, in addition to Travell Dixon, the 6’1″ transfer from Alabama, being eligible to play after sitting out a year, Watson doesn’t fit with coaching staff’s recent focus on tall corners.

Of course, if Watson shows himself to be one of the two best options through the spring and summer, I’m sure he won’t be denied a starting spot just due to his height, but he certainly has his work cut out for him, and I would say it’s more likely that Travell Dixon and perhaps ’13 signee Jermaine Kelly end up starting than it is that Watson regains a spot. Still, expect him to contribute on special teams no matter what.