South Carolina getting ‘high motor, big upside’ with in-state lineman Demetrius Watson
On his final play as a high school player, Demetrius Watson gave South Carolina fans a glimpse of what to expect the next few years.
The Fort Dorchester defensive lineman came flying around the left side for a sack of Daniel quarterback Trent Pearman on a fourth down to seal the South team’s 20-17 win over the North in the Touchstone Energy Cooperatives Bowl.
“We knew we were going to come out with the win,” Watson said after the game. “We had the best defensive line we could have put together in the whole state, so I was happy about that. I got to play with my boy Devin Geddis from Fort Dorchester. The coaches were great. It was a great experience.”
Watson, who was named one of the two captains for the South squad, finished with six tackles, two tackles for loss and a sack in the game.
Now, Watson will get ready for the next chapter of his career. He signed with Gamecocks on Dec. 15 and will enroll in the summer after high school graduation.
South Carolina offered Watson in June and stayed on him during the recruiting process. He attended a camp at USC in June, went for a visit for the game against Florida and committed a day after that.
“He’s one, I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t know a lot about until he came to camp this summer,” USC coach Shane Beamer said. “Really did a nice job in camp: high motor, big upside, loves to fish. He’ll send me videos on Sunday of him going out in the water, and he’s caught sharks, and everything else. He’s a fascinating guy as well. We were at his high school a couple weeks ago and he was showing us videos of his most recent catches. Awesome guy.
“Got South Carolina guys we signed that weren’t necessarily highly recruited that we see a huge upside in their ability to become players here at a high level in the SEC. Reminds me a lot of the guys we signed when I was here before who ended up developing.”
Watson joins fellow Fort Dorchester players Dakereon Joyner and Darryle Ware with the USC program. Having those two on campus definitely helped in the recruiting process, he said.
“Home environment, got to see people up there already (with) Ware and Joyner. It was the best option I had. Get to where I want to go, close to home, all-around good option,” Watson told The State. “It is going to be a transition in my life for the better. Want to go up there, play football and hopefully one day play in the NFL.”
Fort Dorchester coach Steve LaPrad said Watson has the same characteristics Joyner and Ware had as high school players — work ethic and being strong character guys off the field. LaPrad remembered Watson volunteering to play both ways when the team was going through injuries.
“He checks all the boxes,” LaPrad said. “He is a team guy, what you are looking for in a player and will do well up there.”
247Sports Composite ranks Watson as No. 16 prospect in the state. The 6-foot-2, 285-pound defensive lineman was part of a strong defense that helped the Patriots to the Class 5A Lower State championship.
Watson finished with 88 tackles, 16 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks and 20 quarterback hurries this year.
Watson also is an accomplished high school wrestler and qualified for state individual championships last year. He won’t wrestle this year to concentrate on football, but LaPrad thinks the wrestling background is a plus to play along the defensive line.
“Any time you tell a Power 5 coach that an offensive lineman or defensive lineman wrestles, they go crazy,” LaPrad said. “They know how to get hands on people and get some leverage. It is a positive. They usually know they are mentally tough, kind of like a boxer.”
This story was originally published December 24, 2021 at 5:00 AM.
