![]() ![]() There’s a pretty famous video you can find on YouTube of a Houston draft watch party, and if you haven’t seen it, these are the highlights. Still others thought that the 11th pick was too high for a serviceable but not game-changing defensive lineman. Many wanted them to take defensive back Prince Amukamara, who admittedly had a cooler name. Many Texans fans wanted the team to pick a quarterback to replace Matt Schaub (and Christian Ponder was right there!). Even after he declared for the draft and had an incredible performance at the combine - 37-inch vertical jump, 34 bench presses, 4.8 40-yard dash - NFL scouts and draft experts were pretty mixed.Īnd when Houston took him with the 11th overall pick, it’s probably fair to say that only one person in town was entirely thrilled. Watt for the way he played and for his perseverance - in his last game at Wisconsin, the crowd chanted his name - but at the same time, people didn’t seem to get all that excited about his play. The big award he won was the Ronnie Lott Award, which considers both performance and character. He was a very good and beloved player at Wisconsin, but interestingly, he was not a first-team All-American. He earned his scholarship before he ever played a snap at Wisconsin. Watt, the town’s biggest football star, delivering a pizza? Watt would say he did not feel embarrassed … that’s not the right word. What are you doing here?" And Watt said, "I’m here to deliver your pizza."Īnd he could see the extreme confusion the boy was feeling - why was the great J.J. ![]() He went to one house, and a young boy answered the door. Watt tells a great story about when he was delivering pizzas. "I’m sure I made some people not like me. "I had to earn a scholarship," Watt told Sports Illustrated’s Tim Layden. Before the end of camp, he would manage to tick off each and every member of Wisconsin’s vaunted offensive line because they were playing to win, and he was playing for his life. He left Central Michigan, went home, got a job as a delivery guy for Pizza Hut, went to Wisconsin to play on the scout team and played like a madman. "Every single play for you," his father, John, told him, "had better be like the Super Bowl." ![]() He asked his parents if they could help him pay for college at Wisconsin so that he could walk on. And, damn it, he was going to play at Wisconsin. He had dreamed about playing at Wisconsin. He signed to play tight end at Central Michigan, and after his first game - his very first game - he knew that he’d made a terrible mistake. That won’t get you to Wisconsin … and sure enough, Wisconsin didn’t give Watt a second glance. He was a hero around town.īut the summer before his senior year, he got mono and wasn’t able to play in any of the summer camps, and he was rated a two-star recruit by the services. And he made himself into a star high school football player - at least everybody in Waukesha thought so. He started telling people he was going to do that when he was 7. I mean, the guy’s whole dream growing up in Waukesha, Wisconsin, was to play football at the University of Wisconsin. Looking back now - after Watt has turned into not only one of the greatest defensive players in NFL history but also one of the most famous athletes in America - it's funny that there was a long stretch of time when people simply didn’t notice him. But, hey, that was pretty much the story of his life up to that point. Watt when he came out for the 2011 NFL Draft. Nobody seemed especially excited about J.J. The countdown continues today with player No. Posnanski will publish a detailed look at all 101 players on Substack. ![]() Editor's Note: Throughout 20, Joe Posnanski is ranking the 101 best players in pro football history in collaboration with FOX Sports. ![]()
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