Twitter: @tre1watson | @calfootball
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Watson will miss the remainder of the 2017 campaign after suffering a season-ending injury to his lower body against Weber State in the second contest of the season. Watson has played in 37 career games with eight starts at Cal and is the Golden Bears' active career leader in all-purpose yards (2430), rushes (274), rushing yards (1390), kick return yards (657) and total offense (1390), while ranking second in scoring (78), total touchdowns (13) and rushing touchdowns (8) as well as third in touchdown receptions (5). Watson had rushed 17 times for 83 yards while adding five receptions for 31 yards as a 2017 senior before suffering his season-ending injury. Watson had the strongest campaign of his career as a 2016 junior when he posted career highs in every rushing and receiving category, rushing for 709 yards and four touchdowns on 143 carries while totaling 21 receptions for 241 yards and four touchdown grabs.
Watson's Career Game Highs
Rushes: 28 (vs. Oregon, 2016)
Rushing Yards: 154 (vs. Oregon, 2016)
Rushing TDs: 2 (twice, last vs. Stanford, 2016)
Long Rush: 32 (three times, last at Oregon State, 2016)
Receptions: 5 (vs. Oregon, 2016)
Receiving Yards: 83 (at Arizona State, 2016)
Receiving TDs: 2 (twice, last vs. Stanford, 2016)
Long Reception: 74TD (at Arizona State, 2016)
Kick Returns: 8 (at USC, 2014)
Kick Return Yards: 165 (at USC, 2014)
Long Kick Return: 28 (twice, last at USC, 2015)
Punt Returns: 1 (vs. Sacramento State, 2014)
Punt Return Yards: 4 (vs. Sacramento State, 2014)
Long Punt Return: 4 (vs. Sacramento State, 2014)
All-Purpose Yards: 261 (vs. Oregon, 2016)
Points: 12 (three times, last vs. Stanford, 2016)
Fumble Recoveries: 1 (vs. Hawai'i, 2016)
Tackles: 1 (four times, last at Washington State, 2016)
Cal Career (2014 – Present)
• Has played in 37 games with eight starts and is Cal's active career leader in all-purpose yards (2430), rushes (268), rushing yards (1390), kick returns (34), kick return yards (657) and total offense (1390) while ranking second in scoring (78), total touchdowns (13) and rushing touchdowns (8) as well as third in touchdown receptions (5)
• Has 37 career receptions for 379 yards and one punt return for four yards
• Rushed for single-season career highs with 709 yards and four touchdowns on the ground 143 carries as a 2016 junior, while also adding career bests with 21 receptions for 241 yards and four touchdown grabs
• Also had his lone career fumble recovery and four career tackles as a junior
• Picked up his single-season career highs in kick returns and yardage (20-407) as well as punt returns and yardage (1-4) as a 2014 freshman
• Posted a career-high 261 all-purpose yards (most by a Cal player since Trevor Davis had 280 at Washington State in 2014) in a 52-49 double overtime victory over as a 2016 junior over Oregon to earn a spot on the Week 8 Paul Hornung Award honor roll the honor that recognizes college football's most versatile player with his totals against the Ducks including career highs of 28 carries, 154 yards rushing, five receptions and two touchdown catches
• Has twice had a career-high-tying two touchdown runs at Oregon State and vs. Stanford as a sophomore
• Has had career-long-tying 32-yard run on three occasions, against Oregon both against Oregon as a 2015 sophomore and a junior, as well as during his sophomore season in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl against Air Force
• Had both a career-best 83 yards receiving and a career-long 74-yard touchdown reception at Arizona State as a junior with the catch the longest play from scrimmage by a Cal player in 2016
• Registered career highs of eight kick returns and 165 kick return yards as a 2014 freshman at USC and also had a 28-yard kick return that tied for the longest of his career along with another 28-yarder as a freshman vs. Oregon
• Had the lone punt return and punt return yardage of his career vs. Sacramento State as a freshman when he returned one punt for four yards
• Has led Cal in rushing yards eight times with the most recent four as a junior after the first four all came in the final four games of his sophomore campaign
• Has paced Cal in kick return yards seven times in his career with three during both his freshman and junior campaigns sandwiched around one as a sophomore
Senior (2017)
• Will miss the remainder of the 2017 campaign after suffering a season-ending injury to his lower body against Weber State in the second contest of the season
• Had rushed 17 times for 83 yards while adding five receptions for 31 yards in the first two games of 2017 before suffering his season-ending injury
• Contributed six rushes for 32 yards and one reception for a loss of one yard against Weber State before the season-ending injury
• Began his 2017 senior season with a solid opening game at North Carolina, contributing 11 rushes for a team-high 52 yards and four receptions for another 32 including his lone explosive play of the season on a 21-yard reception to total 84 all-purpose yards
• A preseason candidate for the Doak Walker Award and Paul Hornung Award as well as all other honors for the nation's top running back and most versatile player
• Did not play in the spring game
Junior (2016)
• Played in 12 games with a career-high five starts and was second the squad with career bests in both rushing yards (709) and carries (143), as well as tied for second with four rushing touchdowns to tie a career high
• Third on the team with a career-high 1,156 all-purpose yards, adding career highs of 21 receptions for 241 yards receiving as well as 12 kick returns for 206 yards
• Had a career-high 261 all-purpose yards in a 52-49 double overtime win over Oregon to earn a spot on the Paul Hornung Award Week 8 honor roll when he had career highs of 28 rushes and 154 yards rushing as well as a career-high five receptions for 50 yards to go along with a season-high-tying three kick returns for a season-high 57 yards
• Had his other 100-yard rushing game the previous contest at Oregon State when he rushed for 134 yards and a career-high-tying two touchdown on 16 carries
• Led the team in rushing four times against Oregon, vs. Utah (4-37), at Washington State (15-58) and vs. Stanford (11-60) as he also equaled his career-high with two touchdowns on the ground
• Finished the season with 17 rushes for 78 yards with one reception for seven yards in a win over UCLA
• Had two receptions for a career-high 83 yards receiving including a career-long 74-yard touchdown rush that was the longest by a Cal player in 2016, nine rushes for 58 yards and one kick return for 18 yards at Arizona State for a total of 159 all-purpose yards that is the second-highest total of his career
• Other rushing numbers came vs. Hawai'i (11-33), at USC (11-33), vs. Washington (10-29), at San Diego State (6-24) and vs. Texas (5-11)
• Other receiving numbers came vs. Stanford (4-36), vs. Utah (3-23), at San Diego State (2-10), at USC (1-22), at Washington State (1-12), vs. Washington (1-0) and vs. Texas (1-(-2)
• Other kick return numbers came vs. Utah (season-high-tying 3 returns, 46 yards), vs. Washington (2-17), vs. Stanford (1-21), at San Diego State (1-19), at Washington State (1-19) at USC (0-9)
• Recovered a fumble for the first time in his career vs. Hawai'i
• Had the first four tackles of his career with one each at San Diego State, vs. Utah, vs. Oregon and at Washington State
• Had at least 10 carries in each of the last seven games and eight contests overall, while he had at least one reception in each of the final six and 10 of 12 overall
• Did not play in the spring game
Sophomore (2015)
• Played in 11 games including his first career start and rushed for 504 yards and three touchdowns on 89 carries (5.7 ypr) over 11 games
• One of three Cal running backs to rush for over 500 yards in 2015 as the Golden Bears became the first college football team in recorded history that had six receivers with 40 or more catches and three rushers with 500 or more yards
• Added 10 receptions for 106 yards and his first career touchdown grab as well as two kick returns for 44 yards to accumulate four total touchdowns and 504 yards of total offense
• Cal's leader in rushing yards each of the final four games of the campaign as he rushed for 359 yards and one touchdown on 52 carries for an average of 89.8 yards per game and 6.9 yards per contest over the stretch, while adding eight receptions for 79 yards and one touchdown as well as one kick return for 26 yards for 464 all-purpose yards an average of 116.0 per game during the run
• Started the season-ending four-game stretch by rushing for a season-high 110 yards on 10 carries vs. Oregon State in his his first of three career 100-yard rushing contests and one of three by Cal players during the 2015 campaign which included a career-long-tying 32 yard rush, while adding a season-best 54 yards receiving on two catches including his his first career touchdown reception on a season-long 45-yard grab from Jared Goff for a season-high 164 total yards
• Rushed a season-high 15 times for 92 yards and one touchdown on a five-yard score early in the third quarter that started a wild 48-46 comeback victory over Arizona State in the regular-season finale, while adding one reception for three yards and one kick return for a season-high and season-long 26 yards for 121 all-purpose yards in the third contest of the stretch
• Rushed for 87 yards on 14 carries and added a career-high four catches for 13 yards in his first career start at Stanford in the second game of the stretch
• Rushed for 70 yards on 13 carries and added one reception for nine yards vs. Air Force in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl in the final game of the season and the four-game run
• Had at least 30 yards rushing in four other contests at Texas (9-37), at Washington (8-31), vs. Grambling State (8-30, TD) and at Utah (5-30, TD) while other rushing numbers came vs. San Diego State (3-9) and at UCLA (4-8)
• Had his first two receptions of the season for 27 yards at Utah
• Returned one kick for 18 yards against Grambling State
• Did not play in the spring game due to injury
Freshman (2014)
• Played in 12 games off the bench and was one of the team’s five true freshmen to see action in every contest along with Devante Downs, Vic Enwere, Matt Rockett and Noah Westerfield
• Only player on the Cal roster to record statistics in rushing, receiving, kick returns and punt returns
• Led the team with career highs of 20 kick returns for 407 yards and a 20.4 yards per kick return average while serving as the team’s primary kick returner for much of the second half of the season
• Contributed 94 yards rushing and one touchdown on the ground on 25 carries
• Totaled 506 all-purpose yards, adding one reception for one yard receiving and one punt return for four yards
• Led Cal in kick return yards in three consecutive games vs. Oregon, at Oregon State and at USC
• Registered career highs of eight kick returns, 165 kick return yards (also a season-high 165 all-purpose yards) at USC and also had a 28-yard kick return that tied for the longest of his career, with his eight kick returns tying for the second most by a Pac-12 player in 2014
• Had seven kick returns for 142 kick return yards including a career-high-tying 28-yard return vs. Oregon and added two rushes for three yards for 145 all-purpose yards
• Other kick return totals came at Oregon State (3-68) and vs. Washington (2-32) with the kick return action against the Huskies the first of his career
• Added rushing totals of three carries for 18 yards including a season-long 13-yard rush against the Beavers and two rushes for 11 yards against the Huskies
• Posted season highs of seven carries and 26 yards rushing vs. Sacramento State while adding the lone punt return of his career for four yards
• Scored the first touchdown of his career on a nine-yard run in the third quarter of the season finale vs. BYU and finished the game with five carries for 18 yards
• Had 18 yards rushing on six carries and added his first career reception for one yard receiving in the season-opener at Northwestern
Centennial HS (Class of 2014)
• Amassed a 52-8 overall record and a 24-0 record in Big VIII League action as a four-year varsity player, while winning Southern Section Inland Division championships each of his final two seasons and the Southern California Regional crown his junior campaign
• A National Player of the Year candidate and All-American as a 2013 senior who was selected for the Offense-Defense All-American Bowl but did not play due to injury and also earned honorable mention recognition as a Parade All-American
• Selected for the West Coast Bowl after his senior season but did not play due to injury
• Rushed for 5,244 yards and 72 touchdowns in his career on 591 carries, while he had 74 overall touchdowns (also one receiving, one miscellaneous) and scored 458 career points, adding 14 two-point conversions with all of his rushing yards other than 27 coming in his final two campaigns
• Posted 23 career 100-plus yard rushing games, as well as nine with 200 or more yards and six with 300 or more
• Racked up additional honors as a senior when he was also listed as one of eight finalists for CalHiSports.com Mr. Football Award, named first-team All-State, Los Angeles Times Running Back of the Year, Riverside Press Enterprise All-County Offensive Player of the Year, Southern Section Inland Division Offensive Player of the Year, Los Angeles Times All-Area team, Big VIII MVP and team captain
• Rushed for 3,734 yards on 417 attempts (9.0 ypg) as a senior with both numbers single-season school records, leading the state of California and ranking second nationally, while setting a Riverside County record in both and ranking third all-time in state and Southern Section history with a school-record-tying 50 rushing touchdowns that was fifth nationally while adding three rushing conversions for a total of 306 points
• Scored at least one touchdown on the ground in each of his 15 games as a senior
• Added 204 kick return yards with a long of 96 and six receptions for 72 yards as a senior
• Senior team finished 12-3 overall and 5-0 in the Big VIII to win a conference title and also captured the Southern Section Inland Division crown before ending the season ranked No. 6 in California and No. 27 nationally after a loss to state champion St. John Bosco in the first round of a four-team Open Division playoff
• Had six games as a senior with 300 or more yards rushing and eight with 200 or more, as well as seven with four or more TDs
• Rushed for 1,111 yards in four playoff games as a senior, including a 519-yard six-touchdown effort with one scoring run of 93 yards in the Inland Division semifinals against Upland when his team set a national record for offensive yardage in a game
• Named the MaxPreps Overall and Offensive Player of the Game vs. St. Bonaventure during his senior season when he rushed for a then-school record 469 yards and a school-record seven touchdowns
• Other 300-yard plus games as a senior came vs. Norco (35-382, 4 TD), Liberty (33-319, 5 TD), Santiago (33-312, 4 TD) and Vista Murrieta (48-304, 2 TD), while he added 200-plus yard efforts vs. Etiwanda (29-249, 3 TD) and St. John Bosco (46-236, 2 TD)
• Named Homecoming King at halftime of game against Carson as a senior
• Ran for 1,483 yards on 163 carries (9.1 ypr) and 22 rushing touchdowns (24 total touchdowns) as a 2012 junior to earn first-team All-Big VIII honors and third-team All-State Underclassmen recognition (Cal-Hi Sports) as one of two players on his squad with 1,000-plus rushing yards for a team that posted a 14-2 record overall, was 5-0 in the Big VIII to win the league title and finished ranked No. 13 nationally and No. 2 in the state while losing to De La Salle in the state title game after winning the Southern Section Inland Division title
• Posted the first 200-plus yard rushing game of his prep career among nine 100-plus yard games during his junior season with 213 yards on 21 carries vs. Murrieta Valley
• Added 204 kick return yards and 23 receiving yards on four catches as a junior
• Made the game-winning touchdown catch against Narbonne in the Southern California Bowl as a junior
• Sophomore team was 12-2 overall and 7-0 in league, making the Southern Section Inland Division finals
• Freshman team finished ranked fifth in the state, No. 13 in the MaxPreps Xcellent 25 rank and No. 20 nationally, winning the Southern Section Inland Division title before falling in the state title game
Recruiting Notes (Class of 2014)
• A four-star recruit according to Rivals, while 247Sports, 247Sports Composite, ESPN and Scout gave him three stars each
• Among the nation’s top-ranked running backs according to Rivals (No. 27), 247Sports Composite (No. 36), Scout (No. 49), 247Sports (No. 52) and ESPN (No. 142)
• Also checked in on the 247Sports Composite list of the nation’s top players overall at No. 589
• Ranked among the top players overall in his region by ESPN (No. 200)
• Among the top players overall in California according to Rivals (No. 39), 247Sports Composite (No. 56), 247Sports (No. 78) and ESPN (No. 125)
• Received a grade of 0.8608 from 247Sports Composite, while 247Sports had him graded at 86, ESPN at 74 and Rivals at 5.8
• Listed by Bleacher Report/Los Angeles Times as the one recruit you need to know in California
• No. 9 on Rivals Southern California Watch List for running backs heading into senior season
• Called a “notable riser” in Rivals running back recruiting ratings in August of 2013
• Listed as the No. 8 running back in the West by Scout heading into signing day and prior to the 2013 season
Other
• Full name is John Earl Watson
• Born February 19, 1996
• Son of Kenneth and Desiree Carter
• Ran a 4.4 40-yard dash as a prep according to Bear Insider
• Major is sociology
Last Updated
October 13, 2017
