Corona native Tre Watson has made a name for himself as a running back. His talent and skill has resulted in victories, accolades, and recognition. He will enter into his senior year at the University of California, Berkeley this fall.
“It’s definitely diverse and the culture and just the academics is amazing,” Watson said about what he will miss about the university. “I love it … and being around that team and just being with my brothers.”
Watson has made significant contributions on the offensive end for California, he is a preseason candidate for the Doak Walker Award. As a senior, he has started six out of the 35 career games he played. He led the team with 1,307 rushing yards from his 257 carries, he also has eight rushing touchdowns in his career.
A peek rushing performance for Watson was when Cal beat Oregon in a double-overtime 52-49 victory. He clinched a career-best 154 rushing yards in the contest.
During his junior year, Watson made a number of career-high performances. In a game against Arizona State in his junior year, he made a career high of 83 receiving yards and earned his longest touchdown reception with a 74-yard catch.
“You guys are not going to take my catching thing serious and that’s serious,” Watson said between laughs at the Pac-12 Football media day. “The hands are perfect.”
Prior to his time at Cal, Watson attended Centennial high school of Corona where he was a four-year varsity player on the football team. He ascended to the team captain position as a senior and accumulated 591 carries for 5,244 yards and 72 touchdowns.
His performance pushed the Huskies to a 52-8 overall record and they went undefeated in the Big VIII League, winning 24 games. Watson noted how the head coach, Matt Logan, changed his life.
“I’ve been to four championships, won three, so that mindset he just taught us to play for each other,” Watson said. “Our mentality is no man is better than you and what you do off the field when nobody is looking is gonna be what really shows on those game days.”
The Huskies battled many dominant high school programs during the time Watson was there, including De La Salle and St. John Bosco. Those contests assisted in his transition into college-level gameplay.
“My senior year, we played Bosco. They had about 20 guys go D1, they had about seven guys start as true freshmen, so you already get that experience of playing with the best,” Watson said. “It definitely expands your game and makes you better.”
High school teammates have since become rivals throughout the Pac-12. Oregon linebacker Troy Dye once played along side of Watson at Centennial. Their bond goes beyond their collegiate enmity.
“Our brotherhood will never be broken,” Watson said. “I got guys in the Pac-12 even though we hate each other on game day, when we play each other, they’re still my brothers always and we hang out all the time.”
