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Wearing #9 in high school, J.J. Watt lined up all over the defensive line and blew up one play after another with passes batted down, tackles for a loss and quarterback sacks. He also caught several passes as a tight end on offense. Houston Texans fans are all too familiar with him doing this in the NFL; clearly his elite talent started at an early age.
MaxPreps said:
A multi-sport athlete at Pewaukee (Wis.), Watt played football, basketball, baseball and track at the suburban Milwaukee school with an enrollment of fewer than 800 students.
The 6-foot-6, 230-pound Watt played his high school career prior to the ubiquity of YouTube and Hudl highlight films. He was a two-star recruit at a medium-sized school, in a state that does not churn out many Division I recruits.
After signing with Central Michigan, transferring to Wisconsin, and getting drafted by the Texans, Watt is now the best defensive football player — maybe the best football player, period — on the planet.
He also played hockey and almost considered following that path for a future career. I'm sure glad that didn't happen! The NFL is a better place because J.J. Watt helps to balance out all the negative press that regularly plagues the league. The Texans are a better team and Houston is a better city with our friendly neighborhood JuggerWatt here to lead us through the dark times in search of a championship.
Enjoy this highlight video from MaxPreps to kick off your weekend.
Happy Saturday!!