'Cocks Watson kicked off the team for marijuana charge

COLUMBIA, S.C. - South Carolina running back Derek Watson has been kicked off the team for a drug charge just days after the junior could have entered the NFL draft. <br> <br> His options now seem limited to another Division I school where he would have to sit out a year before playing or going to a smaller school where he could play next fall. <br> <br> But the draft was an uninviting choice for Williamston native because he struggled this season to produce the numbers he had a year ago. Even coach Lou Holtz said in November that Watson&#39;s continuing off-the-field troubles may have led to his mediocre season. <br> <br> ``I think Derek had so many things he had to do this summer that Derek really could not work out running and in agility drills. It hurt him somewhat this year,&#39;&#39; Holtz said in November when he was asked if Watson would return to the Gamecocks for his senior season. ``I think he&#39;s still a great football player and would do really well in the NFL.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> This fall he rushed for 618 yards and five touchdowns compared to 1,066 yards and 11 scores his sophomore season. <br> <br> Watson was dropped from the team Monday after being charged with simple possession of marijuana outside a Greenville nightclub early Saturday, Holtz said. <br> <br> Teammate and sophomore linebacker Jeremiah Garrison spoke with Watson after the incident, but Garrison didn&#39;t know Watson had gotten into trouble. <br> <br> ``I just saw him Sunday. He didn&#39;t say anything about it,&#39;&#39; Garrison said. ``It breaks my hear that he&#39;s not going to on the team next year. It&#39;s not like he&#39;s a bad person. He just makes bad decisions sometimes. He&#39;s got the worst luck in the world. I thought he was doing good.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Watson had been enrolled in a pretrial intervention program for an assault and battery charge, but will now have to stand trial for that charge, Richland County prosecutor Barney Giese said. <br> <br> If Watson had successfully completed the pretrial program, the assault charge would have been erased. <br> <br> ``I&#39;m disappointed. He was a big part of our team,&#39;&#39; Garrison said. <br> <br> The drug charge could mean academic trouble for Watson, too. The case will be the third matter reviewed by the Office of Student Judicial Affairs, said university spokesman Russ McKinney. <br> <br> ``Each and every case is handled on its own, however, clearly, previous disciplinary actions ... have a bearing on future discipline,&#39;&#39; which ranges from mandatory counseling to expulsion, McKinney said. <br> <br> Greenville police Lt. Mike Gambrell said undercover agents watched Watson sit in the passenger seat of a car, filling a hollowed out cigar with a substance from a clear plastic bag. Watson attempted to hide the items under the floorboard when the drug agents approached the car, Gambrell said. <br> <br> ``It wasn&#39;t like, &#39;Use the binoculars and see what you can see.&#39; They were in the car right beside&#39;&#39; the agents, Gambrell said. <br> <br> The driver, Antwan Andre Galloway, 23, of Pendleton, also was charged with marijuana possession. Both men were given a $497 fine, released and are scheduled to appear in Municipal Court on Jan. 30. <br> <br> Messages left for Watson were not immediately returned. <br> <br> Watson has a career total of 2,078 yards rushing on 437 carries and 16 touchdowns. He also has 58 receptions for 466 yards and two touchdowns. <br> <br> Watson&#39;s troubling off-season last year including a suspension from the 2001 Outback Bowl after he was ticketed for driving with a suspended license and driving too fast. <br> <br> Holtz also disciplined Watson after he was accused of threatening a student referee during intramural basketball. And last summer Watson was fined $425 after he was charged with driving without a license and playing his car stereo too loudly in his hometown of Williamston.