Strengths: play speed, ability to quickly break on balls in front of him
Tariq Watson is a 6’0”, 175-pound cornerback from Harvey, LA. Watson pledged to Minnesota over offers from Purdue, Washington State, and Virginia. Placed second as a junior at the May 2021 Louisiana 4A state meet in the 200 meters (21.40) and third in the 100 meters (10.49).
Watson is a natural cornerback with burning speed as shown by his track times above. It is one thing to be fast and another to play fast. Tariq utilizes his speed at the cornerback position especially when coming downhill and breaking on passes in front of him. The quickness of his foot speed and changing directions is noticeable on his film as well as his instincts about breaking on passes in front of him. It is fun to see in his film there are numerous times where you feel he is too far away to break up a pass but somehow is able to get a hand in.
The willingness to come downhill and mix it up in run support was something I didn’t expect but came away pleasantly surprised with. Watson is not afraid to take on the blocks of receivers and will mix it up in run support which you don’t always see from smaller corners. I’m excited to see what his senior film looks like because I think the Gophers may have snuck away with an under the radar player.
Tariq Watson is a 6’0”, 175-pound cornerback from Harvey, LA. Watson pledged to Minnesota over offers from Purdue, Washington State, and Virginia. Placed second as a junior at the May 2021 Louisiana 4A state meet in the 200 meters (21.40) and third in the 100 meters (10.49).
Watson is a natural cornerback with burning speed as shown by his track times above. It is one thing to be fast and another to play fast. Tariq utilizes his speed at the cornerback position especially when coming downhill and breaking on passes in front of him. The quickness of his foot speed and changing directions is noticeable on his film as well as his instincts about breaking on passes in front of him. It is fun to see in his film there are numerous times where you feel he is too far away to break up a pass but somehow is able to get a hand in.
The willingness to come downhill and mix it up in run support was something I didn’t expect but came away pleasantly surprised with. Watson is not afraid to take on the blocks of receivers and will mix it up in run support which you don’t always see from smaller corners. I’m excited to see what his senior film looks like because I think the Gophers may have snuck away with an under the radar player.
