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Updated: April 14, 2011, 5:10 PM
Into The Fire
By: Nick Eatman
Baylor's Watkins
Watkins has played just four years of organized football, including the last two at Baylor.
IRVING, Texas - Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers just won a Super Bowl earlier this past season, his fourth in the league. Rodgers hoisted the MVP trophy at the age of 27.
Arizona wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald has played seven seasons, with five Pro Bowls under his belt. And he's the ripe old age of 27.
Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson has an NFL rushing title and is a two-time All-Pro selection. And he just turned 26.
So imagine how Danny Watkins must feel when he enters the league here at the end of this month. The former Baylor standout, who is projected to go anywhere from the late first round to the early second, is what you might call a late bloomer.
By the middle of the football season this upcoming fall, Watkins will be a rookie lineman trying to find his way in the league. Oh, and by then he'll be 27 years of age as well.
While he might just be the oldest rookie in the NFL next year, Watkins could also be one of the toughest, smartest and, surprisingly enough, maybe as NFL-ready as any other player, despite having just four years of organized football under his belt.
It's also safe to say, when it comes background stories, Watkins might have them all beat.
See, unlike most of these potential draft picks that grew up watching Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Barry Sanders and Jerry Rice, Watkins had different heroes.
"No, I liked Wayne Gretzky," said Watkins. "I wasn't watching Monday Night Football as a kid. We grew up watching Hockey Night in Canada."
A native of Kelowna, British Columbia, Watkins was a great high school athlete - playing hockey and rugby. When he was 16 years old, he found what he calls his "first love." It was then he discovered firefighting, and made it a goal to become a firefighter after high school.
"I just loved everything about it," Watkins said. "There's just something about that rush and adrenaline. I hadn't really experienced anything like that before. I just really enjoyed it. In a lot of ways it's different, but there are similarities with football."
Of course, football was rather foreign to Watkins at the time. It wasn't until he enrolled at Butte Junior College in California that he discovered the sport. And even that was by accident.
Watkins enrolled at Butte to further his firefighting education, but 6-4, 290-pounders get noticed. He got the attention of the head football coach right away.
"He asked me if I'd ever played football before," Watkins said. "I told him no. And he asked me if I wanted to play. I figured if I was going to be there, I might as well get the chance to hit some people."
And that's how Watkins' football career came about. Early on, he had plenty of athleticism and the physical tools to play it, but it was the mental side that he struggled with.
"The toughest part was getting adjusted to the terminology of the game," Watkins said. "I didn't get the football lingo down right away. And it's still a struggle sometimes right now. My teammates have been playing football and watching football their whole lives. I'm still relatively new."
But obviously Watkins is a fast learner. He learned the game and played it well enough in two years of junior college to get a scholarship at Baylor, where he played in a pass-oriented offense under head coach Art Briles.
As a senior, Watkins replaced Jason Smith, the No. 2 overall pick of the 2009 draft, as Baylor's left tackle. He eventually became an All-Big 12 performer, helping the Bears to their first bowl game since 1994.
The learning curve, however, is still going for Watkins.
With his size, NFL teams project him more as an interior linemen. Watkins went to the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., and spent the week playing guard.
"I felt like I did a pretty good job at guard, considering it was my first week doing it," Watkins said. "Like everything, it's going to be something that I continue to work on and try to learn. I feel like I'm a quick learner once I understand what's going on."
And that's a good thing because some teams, including the Cowboys, have even inquired about his chances of playing center as well.
"Right now, I'm just trying to soak it all in," Watkins said. "Wherever teams want me to play, I'll be happy to do that. This has been a fun experience for me and I'm just trying to enjoy it all."
This experience will end in about two weeks when he finally becomes a professional football player.
He'll still be a rookie, just one with a few extra years under his belt.
Into The Fire
By: Nick Eatman
Baylor's Watkins
Watkins has played just four years of organized football, including the last two at Baylor.
IRVING, Texas - Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers just won a Super Bowl earlier this past season, his fourth in the league. Rodgers hoisted the MVP trophy at the age of 27.
Arizona wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald has played seven seasons, with five Pro Bowls under his belt. And he's the ripe old age of 27.
Minnesota running back Adrian Peterson has an NFL rushing title and is a two-time All-Pro selection. And he just turned 26.
So imagine how Danny Watkins must feel when he enters the league here at the end of this month. The former Baylor standout, who is projected to go anywhere from the late first round to the early second, is what you might call a late bloomer.
By the middle of the football season this upcoming fall, Watkins will be a rookie lineman trying to find his way in the league. Oh, and by then he'll be 27 years of age as well.
While he might just be the oldest rookie in the NFL next year, Watkins could also be one of the toughest, smartest and, surprisingly enough, maybe as NFL-ready as any other player, despite having just four years of organized football under his belt.
It's also safe to say, when it comes background stories, Watkins might have them all beat.
See, unlike most of these potential draft picks that grew up watching Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, Barry Sanders and Jerry Rice, Watkins had different heroes.
"No, I liked Wayne Gretzky," said Watkins. "I wasn't watching Monday Night Football as a kid. We grew up watching Hockey Night in Canada."
A native of Kelowna, British Columbia, Watkins was a great high school athlete - playing hockey and rugby. When he was 16 years old, he found what he calls his "first love." It was then he discovered firefighting, and made it a goal to become a firefighter after high school.
"I just loved everything about it," Watkins said. "There's just something about that rush and adrenaline. I hadn't really experienced anything like that before. I just really enjoyed it. In a lot of ways it's different, but there are similarities with football."
Of course, football was rather foreign to Watkins at the time. It wasn't until he enrolled at Butte Junior College in California that he discovered the sport. And even that was by accident.
Watkins enrolled at Butte to further his firefighting education, but 6-4, 290-pounders get noticed. He got the attention of the head football coach right away.
"He asked me if I'd ever played football before," Watkins said. "I told him no. And he asked me if I wanted to play. I figured if I was going to be there, I might as well get the chance to hit some people."
And that's how Watkins' football career came about. Early on, he had plenty of athleticism and the physical tools to play it, but it was the mental side that he struggled with.
"The toughest part was getting adjusted to the terminology of the game," Watkins said. "I didn't get the football lingo down right away. And it's still a struggle sometimes right now. My teammates have been playing football and watching football their whole lives. I'm still relatively new."
But obviously Watkins is a fast learner. He learned the game and played it well enough in two years of junior college to get a scholarship at Baylor, where he played in a pass-oriented offense under head coach Art Briles.
As a senior, Watkins replaced Jason Smith, the No. 2 overall pick of the 2009 draft, as Baylor's left tackle. He eventually became an All-Big 12 performer, helping the Bears to their first bowl game since 1994.
The learning curve, however, is still going for Watkins.
With his size, NFL teams project him more as an interior linemen. Watkins went to the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., and spent the week playing guard.
"I felt like I did a pretty good job at guard, considering it was my first week doing it," Watkins said. "Like everything, it's going to be something that I continue to work on and try to learn. I feel like I'm a quick learner once I understand what's going on."
And that's a good thing because some teams, including the Cowboys, have even inquired about his chances of playing center as well.
"Right now, I'm just trying to soak it all in," Watkins said. "Wherever teams want me to play, I'll be happy to do that. This has been a fun experience for me and I'm just trying to enjoy it all."
This experience will end in about two weeks when he finally becomes a professional football player.
He'll still be a rookie, just one with a few extra years under his belt.