Watson Shines Under The Bright Lights at SEC Media Days
July 19, 2022 | Football, Joel Coleman
Mississippi State’s Nathaniel Watson goes from small-town hero to the bright lights of SEC Media Days.
ATLANTA – The small town of Maplesville, Alabama, sits between Tuscaloosa and Montgomery on U.S. Route 82 with a population of 637, per the 2020 census. It's not unlike many rural locations in the Southeast. If you blink passing through, you just might miss it.
"We had a Subway, a Mexican place and a caution light that didn't work," Mississippi State linebacker and Maplesville native Nathaniel Watson said on Tuesday as he roamed the halls at the College Football Hall of Fame while representing the Bulldogs at Southeastern Conference Media Days.
While Watson wandered the premises, it was hard not to notice the juxtaposition of Watson's past against his present. Here's a guy who grew up somewhat out of the spotlight at a Class 1A school where he had to do just about everything over the course of his prep career for the Red Devils.
"I kicked, punted, played safety, running back, tight end and quarterback," Watson said. "I could've played O-line but chose not to though. It wasn't my calling.
"I even tried to kick a field goal one time, but my shoe came off. I didn't make it. The shoe went through. But the football didn't."
Watson's placekicking skills (or lack thereof) aside, his talent wouldn't be denied. It ultimately led him to Tuesday's stage and solidified this small-town boy had become a young man who'd hit the big time.
Not long into Watson's day, a reporter posed a question to Watson on what it meant to him that Mississippi State gave him the opportunity to represent MSU at Media Days.
"It's an honor," Watson quickly responded. "Growing up as a kid and seeing it on TV every year made me wonder if I'd get my chance, and it's a blessing."
Make no mistake, Watson earned every bit of this. He's gone from three-star prospect to SEC star defender. Even at 6-foot-2 and 240 pounds, Watson is still taken aback by where his journey has brought him.
He was just a guy from Maplesville that saw an opportunity to make a name for himself at Mississippi State. He committed to the Bulldogs in August of 2017 eyeing a pathway to his professional football goals.
Watson could've gone elsewhere and been an offensive player. Yet, in large part due to MSU's well-earned reputation for developing NFL talent on the defensive side, Watson wanted to wear the Maroon and White.
"When I found out guys like [Bernardrick McKinney] and [K.J. Wright] and guys like that went to Mississippi State, I was like that's it, I'm coming," Watson said.
Who'd have predicted some five years later, Watson would be rubbing shoulders with the SEC's elite in the ATL?
"It's crazy," Watson said. "Really never thought I'd get this chance."
Watson – along with his head coach Mike Leach, teammates Austin Williams and Jaden Crumedy and other MSU staff members – boarded the university plane in Starkville Tuesday morning for the quick flight to Georgia. Watson was dressed like a man who'd done all this before.
Decked out in all black – from his suit, to his shirt, to his tie and shoes – Watson looked comfortable. He looked at ease. He later admitted none of that was the case.
Watson woke up early Tuesday morning a bit anxious about the day ahead.
"I'm not much of a talker," Watson said. "At least not like this. This is totally different than talking to teammates."
As for his attire…
"You're not going to see me in a suit again for a long time. The next time will be in my wedding," Watson quipped.
If Watson was indeed nervous or feeling like a fish out of water, he hid it masterfully. Watson weaved in and out of rooms all Tuesday afternoon, answering off-the-wall questions, posing for photos and taking it all in.
He explained how he earned his nickname of Bookie to anyone who asked (and almost everyone in Atlanta did). The story for those unfamiliar: Watson's father was Nathaniel Sr. He was the first Bookie. When the younger Watson came along, he became Little Bookie. That is right up until Little Bookie wasn't little anymore and dropped the 'Little' part.
Laughs were aplenty throughout the day, too. In one room, Watson was given pictures of random items and asked to identify them. Shown a pager, Watson – born in the year 2000 when beepers were in decline and cell phones were on the rise – was clueless.
"What's that? An old-school thermometer?" he asked.
Watson later suggested the entire MSU linebacker group should dress up as horror movie villain Michael Myers for Halloween. He tabbed bananas as the world's most underrated fruit.
Watson chose Spiderman as the superhero he'd most like to be.
"I just really want to shoot the webs," he explained.
And along the way, in the middle of all the randomness, you caught glimpses of the guy that developed from humble Maplesville beginnings.
Said one photographer to Watson: "Man, that's a nice custom-made watch."
Watson: "Nah, it's not custom made."
Photographer: "Oh, well what kind is it?"
Watson: "I can't even tell you."
Then later…
Photographer: "Those are special shoes though, right?"
Watson with a smile: "Nah. Just shoes."
A regular watch. Plain old black shoes. But all worn by a special, special player who's living the dream and on the cusp of a season where his stock could very well continue to rise.
Why wouldn't Watson continue to progress? It's all he's done since getting to the MSU campus.
He played in his first two career games and notched his first tackles as a true freshman in 2018. In 2019, Watson saw action in seven games and recorded his first tackle for loss.
Then in 2020, a redshirt sophomore Watson really started coming into his own. He played in all 11 games with three starts. The first of those starts came at Georgia and showed just how valuable Watson is.
He was asked to play Sam linebacker against the SEC's other set of Bulldogs. Watson prides himself on being versatile and being able to play all the linebacker spots, but he needed a refresher for Sam. So, he headed out to the team hotel's parking lot and reacquainted himself with the role right then and there.
It illustrated what's perhaps the secret to all Watson has achieved.
"Keep your head down and keep working," Watson said. "You never know when you'll get your chance."
The chances kept coming for Watson and he kept on delivering. He started 12 games last year and finished second on the team with 84 tackles and five sacks. There were huge performances along the way including a 14-tackle showing against Ole Miss and a 16-tackle contest against Alabama which stands as the most tackles by a Bulldog in a single game since 2011.
Watson is now firmly a part of the heart and soul of the Bulldog defense, just like he always wanted to be.
It's hard to believe a half decade or so ago, there Watson was in Maplesville as part of a graduating class between just 30 to 40 people, yearning to at some point have the chance to be on football's biggest stages. Fast forward to the present and it's happened.
Only 42 total SEC football players are representing their respective schools at Media Days this year and Watson is rightfully among them.
Mississippi State has provided the platform for many others before to achieve their goals. Count Bookie Watson as the latest to rise to stardom in Starkville.
"I would've never believed this was going to happen," Watson said. "I never thought I'd be here as a leader for an SEC team."
Bookie can believe it. He made it and provided a framework for others to follow in his footsteps. Dreams do come true.
