In the end, William Watson went with a familiar face for his college commitment. It just may not have been the one most were expecting.

The junior quarterback from Springfield Central made a verbal commitment to Nebraska during the Golden Eagles’ basketball game against Northampton Tuesday night. With the pledge, Watson will play for former UMass coach Mark Whipple, who is the offensive coordinator at Nebraska.

At one point, it seemed plausible that Watson would pick UMass. New coach Don Brown hired former Central coach Valdamar Brower as his defensive line coach. There was a level of familiarity there, and UMass was the first school to offer Watson, as an eighth grader back in 2019.

A number of major programs threw their hats in the ring for Watson. But, in so many cases, those programs had coaching instability. Oregon was squarely in the mix but coach Mario Cristobal left for Miami. Whipple left Pittsburgh for Nebraska. Not long after he settled there, Nebraska offered Watson, too.

In fact, nearly every school that offered Watson ended up going through a coaching change of some sort.

That possibility of more coaching instability lurks. There is still a ways to go until the early signing day for the 2023 class. It’s likely that the schools who did not get chosen will be looking to flip Watson’s decision.

What are the Cornhuskers getting in Watson? First, he’s a playmaker. He is primarily a pocket passer, and he has a strong, accurate arm. But he can also hurt teams with his legs. He excels when the play breaks down, and is a master of the off-script, off-balance throws. He is just a difficult player to defend, and he’s still getting better.

An NEFJ first team All-State performer, there is little Watson hasn’t already accomplished. He won a d3 state title in 2019, and a d1 crown this past fall.

No doubt he will aim for another state title to end his high school career on a high note.

Then it’s off to college, and as he told everyone Tuesday night, that will be Nebraska.