Following practice on Thursday, former Springfield Central star and most-likely starting UMass quarterback William ‘Pop’ Watson spoke to the media.
This was the first time Watson has spoken in this setting since his decision to return home after a couple of not-so-great seasons at Virginia Tech.
Last week following the first spring practice, head coach Joe Harasymiak spoke highly of his relationship with Watson already, noting that the two are now depending on each other to sort of re-boot their respective career trajectories. Harasymiak also told a story that a player told him about Watson and a handful of other guys walking around a mall, often being stopped to take pictures or sign autographs with younger kids. Harasymiak pointed out how critical that is for recruiting local talent, acknowledging that there’s pressure on Watson being back home, but he’s ready for it.
Watson spoke about that and more. Here’s everything he had to say:
On how things have been so far since coming back home
“Just creating connections with guys on the team, offensively, defensively. Just getting around guys, trying to make guys as comfortable with me as I am with them.”
On the portal process and why he ultimately picked UMass
“I felt like it was an easy decision. Obviously, you go where you feel wanted. Coach H, Coach Warner…they stayed on me. Like, they just kept recruiting me, kept recruiting me through the whole process. I felt like that meant more than going to a bigger school. So, I felt like coming home was the best option.”
On his goals for this season
“Team success. I want to win. I know Coach H wants to win, Coach Warner wants to win bad. So, I think that’s where we’re at right now. We just want team success.”
On the relationship with Coach Warner and the development of the offense
“Coach Warner is probably the perfect coach for me. He never tells you when you’re doing right and when you’re doing wrong. I feel like that pushes you to be perfect, and if you’re reaching for perfection, the worst thing you can get out of perfection is greatness. So, I think Coach Warner is doing an excellent job coaching everybody up, getting our O-line right, wide receivers right, just getting everybody to understand football.”
On what lessons he learned at Virginia Tech
“Never take time for granted. I thought I had all the time in the world. You know, being a young guy there, I felt like I was going to get my opportunity. Once I got my opportunity, I would seize the moment. Things didn’t go as planned, but you know, that just wasn’t in my deck of cards, it wasn’t in God’s plan, so I just kind of took that chip on the shoulder and I carry it with me here.”
On if he feels any extra pressure to be ‘the guy’ back home that saves UMass
“Me, I’m a guy who loves pressure. So, when people kind of try to put more things on me, I feel like it just makes me be better. I look for more pressure. I look for the harder things, like, the harder work. That’s just kind of who I’ve been as a person growing up still to this day.”
On what the biggest thing he learned at Virginia Tech in terms of on the field
“Just being able to play with your eyes. A lot of film goes into being able to play with your eyes. Your eyes and feet work together and that should tell you where you’re going with the ball. I feel like Coach Warner – once again – helped me elevate my game after that. I feel like I was a good quarterback coming in, but that’s obviously my perception. He tweaked a lot of things. I feel like he’s getting me right, he’s getting me NFL-ready.”
On how excited he is to play with Joe Griffin again
“Oh, that’s my dog. I know…ya’ll seen today, you put the ball around him, he’s going to make plays. So, Joe going to be Joe. We gotta make Sure that everybody gets that ball and everybody’s scoring.”
On the other weapons on offense
“I’m excited about the whole receiver core. All the tight ends, all the running backs, I feel like we’ve got a lot of explosion and a good mix of power. I feel like that opens up the game for me, because now you don’t have to guard one guy, you gotta guard both sides of the field and the run game. I feel like that completes an offense.”
On how it’s been settling into campus and classes and if being back home has made things easier
“Yeah, being a local guy obviously made it easy. I’ve been up here quite a few times just being younger. This was my first offer in eighth grade. So, I’ve kind of been around. It was…just not a hard adjustment. I’m either at the facility or at my home, there’s not really too much else to be doing out here. I kind of just take it day by day.”
On what the QB competition has been like
“It’s great. RJ pushes me the best. Aidan is coming along, he’s doing great for a freshman. He’s really impressive to me, honestly, because I couldn’t pick up an offense like this when I was a freshman. So, I think Aidan is going to be a great quarterback in the future. I think every day, we all just kind of approach the game like…trying to be the best we can be. I think it’s a great competition in that room and I’m excited to see where it goes.”
On the backstory of his nickname ‘Pop’
“My grandfather had gave it to me when I was young. He said I was like an angry old man. I used to just do whatever I wanted, walk around with a certain swag and just, the name stuck with me.”
On who has impressed him on the defensive side of the ball
“Everybody. That D-line moving around. Linebackers, they flow excellent. T-Mart, Timmy, Mike (Robinson)…that’s going to be a dangerous three. Then, you got the back end. Obviously, TJ (MaGee), K.B. (Kendall Bournes), Zay (Isaiah) Reed, he’s a dog out there. So, I feel like we got all the pieces we need to be a successful team, now it’s just about putting all the pieces together and getting better every day, step by step.”
On what he’s measuring as ‘team success’ this season after a winless 2024
“Team success is setting the standard every day. So, if you come in every day and you have a bar, you want to be no lower than that bar. So, our bar, like I said, is perfection. So, if we lower than perfection, than we still striving to be great. So, I feel like if we striving to be great, that’s going to carry over into fall camp and obviously into the season. If we’re a well-oiled machine in the season, we’re going to be good.”
On how he’s describe his leadership style
“I’m an understanding dude. Like, everybody’s gonna make mistakes. I’m not about to yell at nobody for mistakes. Only thing I want to see out of somebody is effort. You pull the wrong way, you better pull the wrong way and knock somebody’s head off. Like, that’s all I want to see. I’m not always going to make the right read. Coach isn’t always going o call the right call, but if the effort’s there, we can work with it. We can make things work. That’s the name of the game, making things work. Nobody’s going to be perfect.”
On how excited he is to play again after not getting much action at V-Tech
“It’s an answered prayer. I just felt like I was ready. I wanted to play and I was eager to. That just wasn’t where I was supposed to be, I guess. God had different plans. So, he put me where he wanted me and he’s allowing me to thrive, so every day I just try to be the best me and play in his name.”
On how a UMass spring practices so far compares to one at V-Tech
“Same to me. I feel like we’r getting real good work in. I would say the only thing that’s different is we practice a little less over here. I would say the time difference, like…Virginia Tech, we were going about lie, two hours and 15 minutes. Over here it’s like an hour (and 45 minutes). But, it’s an hour (and 45 minutes) and you’re not stopping. It’s full speed, full speed. So, I feel like we’re getting the same – if not more – out of it.”
On how the offense did in red zone periods during Thursday’s practice
“The offense did good. Obviously, we’ve gotta keep going over installs, get better with our details. But, I felt like as if the effort and the intent was there, so once again, that’s all I can ask for. I got to allow the coaches to be coaches.”
On connecting with TJ MaGee and different position groups
“It starts in the weight room. You know, being a new guy, you walk in and you’re quiet, kind of bashful to a sense. I would say TJ was like one of the first guys to just show me like, ‘yo, you cool here’ and it just made me feel comfortable and allowed me to be me. It just kind of kept stacking day after day. So, once I started talking to TJ I talked to (Rodgers). Start talking to (Robinson), (Bournes), so now I’m cool with the whole defense. I’m still taking the O-line out to eat. So, I thin it just came day by day, honestly. Just building relationships the normal way.”