Watson still weighing choices

Posted 1:53PM on Tuesday 30th April 2002 ( 23 years ago )

ANDERSON, S.C. - Former South Carolina running back Derek Watson says he may go out of state to finish his college career. It had been widely thought that Watson would transfer to NCAA Division I-AA South Carolina State and play for coach Buddy Pough, Watson's position coach with the Gamecocks. But Watson, 21, says that might not be the best thing for him. ``What's the purpose of me going to college in South Carolina?'' Watson told the Anderson Independent-Mail. ``Maybe I need to get away from South Carolina and go to school in another state.'' Watson was arrested on charges of marijuana possession in January and found guilty at a Greenville City Court trial two months later. He was dismissed from the South Carolina team after his arrest. Before that, the Williamston native was one of the state's most talked about football players - for his ability and for his penchant for getting in trouble off the field. After his sophomore season, he wrecked a teammate's car and was suspended by Gamecocks coach Lou Holtz for the 2001 Outback Bowl. In the following off-season, Watson was disciplined for allegedly threatening a student referee at an intramural basketball game then was arrested for assault after a female student accused him of punching her. ``Here, everybody sees my face and knows me,'' Watson said. ``If I go out of state, they can say, 'That's a new face,' and leave it at that. I just need to find a place where nobody knows my face. I think that would really help me out the most.'' Watson was given a 30-day suspended sentence and 240 hours of community service for the marijuana conviction. He says he's tried to keep in shape the past few weeks and will be ready for whatever's next. Watson said he's thought hard about the NFL's upcoming supplemental draft. He said people advised him that scouts were going to criticize the competition he faces at South Carolina State or a similar school. ``If I went to South Carolina State and played a year, I'd probably be picked in the same rounds even if I ran for 2,000 yards because of the competition I was playing against,'' Watson said. ``So, why waste a year if I'm going to be paid the same amount?'' Watson said Holtz suggested he go pro if he couldn't return to South Carolina. ``I'm kind of in a bind,'' Watson said. ``I need to play running back, and I don't think I should be at a Division (I-AA) school. But I don't want to sit out a year'' by transferring to an NCAA I-A team like South Carolina.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2002/4/195315