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During his years at Gainesville High, Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson was an all-service ball boy and equipment room helper for the Falcons.
On Sunday, Watson, who went on to star at Clemson, will lead the Texans (2-2) against his former employer, the Falcons (1-3), at 1 p.m. Sunday at NRG Stadium in Houston.
“It’ll be cool,” Watson said to the Houston media during his weekly session Wednesday. “It's a neat experience, but you just treat it like every other game. Just focus on what I need to do, try to execute as best as I can, try to take what they give us and then try to get the W.
“That's the biggest thing. If we were playing there it would be a little different, but since we’re playing in Houston, it's definitely a little bit easier."
Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan remembers Watson fondly.
“Geez, it feels like yesterday he was here launching balls to our wide receivers during training camp,” Ryan said. “He’d always be down at the (Georgia) Dome on Sundays at the games and before games helping out. It’s been amazing to watch his career through college and now in the NFL. I’m happy for him. I’m proud of him. He’s a great player and a great competitor. He’s had a great career so far.”
Watson remembers his duties, which included getting towels, keeping track of the balls and helping owner Arthur Blank.
"I did everything,” Watson said. “I did the equipment, washed the laundry. I threw to all the receivers, threw with Matt Ryan, watched him throw, did some of the water stuff, helped Arthur Blank out. I did pretty much everything.”
Watson was with the Falcons for four seasons and would work the sidelines during the home games.
“It was awesome to be able to watch everything, watch the walk-throughs, watch the practices and learn," Watson said.
He also remember wide receivers Roddy White and Julio Jones trying to get him to attend Alabama.
"Roddy White went to UAB,” Watson said. “They wanted me to go to a Bama school, but I was already too far locked in on Clemson.”
Georgia didn’t recruit Watson too hard.
"I went to one Georgia game and that was versus Tennessee, and really the reason I went to the Tennessee-Georgia game was A.J. Johnson who plays for the Broncos now,” said Watson of Johnson, who also was a former Falcons ball boy. “He was from my high school and we played together. He was like a big brother, so I really went to watch him. Georgia wasn't really on me for some reason."
Jones remember catching passes from Watson.
“He’s had a great career so far,” Jones said.”He can definitely spin it. He was spinning it when he was in high school and was our ball boy.”
Watson made a strong impression on Jones.
“When we were talking to him, it was just his mentality,” Jones said. “His mentality was, ‘Hey, we are going to go in here and do this.” So, then I knew. I didn’t see him play high school football, just being around him. He had a great ball on him then and even now.”
The Falcons kept track of Watson during his time with the team.
“We would all follow him,” Ryan said. “We got to know him during his time here. We had a bunch of players from Gainesville that came down and worked.
“Saturday mornings, we would have guys that went to the games and they would come in and give us a recap. We definitely followed the Red Elephants, man.”
Watson told a reporter about how Falcons cornerback Asante Samuel gave him $1,000 for retrieving his mouthpiece.
Being around the professional game at such an early age had to help Watson.
“As we all know, he had a great high school career and a great college career,” Houston coach Bill O’Brien said. “I'm sure that those exposures to that type of professional atmosphere probably helped him, no doubt about it.”
Watson, who was the 12th pick in the 2017 draft, is in his third season in the NFL.
He guided the Texans to an 11-5 record last season and a trip to the playoffs. He was also named to his first Pro Bowl team.
The Falcons don’t want their old ball boy to send them spiraling to a 1-4 mark. They respect his passing ability and his mobility as a runner.
"I think No. 1, when you're seeing quarterbacks that can move and get going, this is one tough competitor,” Falcons coach Dan Quinn said. “That part, besides all of the unique stuff that he brings, his toughness, it's so evident to see. I'm sure that provides a lot of energy for the team and certainly for the offense.”
Watson will sit in the pocket, but if the protection breaks down, he can shake a guy off and keep the play moving. Quinn likes to describe that as the ability to create two plays on one down.
“He can get it done,” Falcons free safety Ricardo Allen said. “He’s got a lot of weapons. We have to make everybody around him compete. It’s like every offense in this league, they are going to have some specialty. His is that he can extend plays and he has a canon arm.”
The Falcons respect Watson’s weapons
“Everybody knows (DeAndre) Hopkins is good,” Allen said. “(Will) Fuller can stretch the field. Then they just got (Kenny) Stills, who’s the inside slot.”
Watson picked up his work ethic from his days with the Falcons.
Long after Sunday’s loss to the Panthers, he was back on the field working with is personal quarterback coach Quincy Avery.
“We do that every week,” Watson said. “We sometimes do it in my neighborhood, sometimes do it on the practice field, just wherever we find time to go do it.”
He’s been a hard worker for a long time.
Credit: Tim Warner
Credit: Tim Warner
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