Terrell Anthony Watson (born August 22, 1993) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Azusa Pacific Azusa Pacific University (APU) is a private, evangelical Christian university in Azusa, California. The university was founded in 1899, with classes opening on March 3, 1900, in Whittier, California, and began offering degrees in 1939. The unive ...

. He was signed by the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The c ...

as an undrafted free agent in 2015. Watson has also been a member of the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Steel ...

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

Los Angeles Chargers The Los Angeles Chargers are a professional American football team based in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Chargers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division, and ...

, and

San Diego Fleet The San Diego Fleet was a professional American football franchise based in San Diego, California, and one of the eight members of the Alliance of American Football (AAF). The league began play in February 2019, with the team playing its home game ...

Early years

Watson was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, on August 22, 1993, and was raised by his maternal grandparents Billy and Janice Watson after his mother abandoned him. Watson's mother was 15 years old at the time. Watson went on to star in

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

Oxnard High School Oxnard High School (OHS) is a public four-year high school serving grades 9–12 in Oxnard, California. The school is part of the Oxnard Union High School District and serves students in the western portion of the city of Oxnard, north Port Huene ...

Oxnard, California Oxnard () is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. On California's South Coast, it is the most populous city in Ventura County and the 22nd-most-populous city in California. Incorporated in 1903, Oxnard lies approximately west ...

. In 2010, he led the entire

CIF Cif is a French brand of household cleaning products owned by the Anglo-Dutch company Unilever, known as Jif in Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Middle East and the Nordic countries. Cif was launched in France in 1965 and was marketed in competit ...

in rushing, finishing with 2,905 yards (along with 37 touchdowns) to rank sixth in the nation. In 2016, Watson began to open up about his background, talking about his

speech impediment Speech disorders or speech impairments are a type of communication disorder in which normal speech is disrupted. This can mean stuttering, lisps, etc. Someone who is unable to speak due to a speech disorder is considered mute. Speech skills are ...

, and bullying that occurred due to his

lisp A lisp is a speech impairment in which a person misarticulates sibilants (, , , , , , , ). These misarticulations often result in unclear speech. Types * A frontal lisp occurs when the tongue is placed anterior to the target. Interdental lisping ...

. He talked with a lisp, had an inability to read and found it difficult to understand simple concepts in

elementary school A primary school (in Ireland, the United Kingdom, Australia, Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, and South Africa), junior school (in Australia), elementary school or grade school (in North America and the Philippines) is a school for primary ed ...

, which caused him to be bullied, teased and looked down upon by fellow pupils. However, Watson overcame his early-life struggles, moving from remedial-level or

special education Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

classes to normal classes by late middle school, which he credited to his teachers who helped him. Due to his educational background, he did not receive any scholarship offers coming out of high school, which led him to

College career

During his college career, Watson scored 79

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Ameri ...

s and rushed for nearly 6,000 yards for

. He broke every rushing record at the school, which were previously held by NFL player

Christian Okoye Christian Emeka Okoye (; born August 16, 1961) is a Nigerian-American former American football running back for the Kansas City Chiefs from 1987 to 1992. Nicknamed the "Nigerian Nightmare", he is known for his powerful running style and ability ...

. Watson ran for 2,212 yards and 29 touchdowns as a senior in the 2014 season. He went on to be named MVP of the January 2015 edition of the

NFLPA Collegiate Bowl The NFLPA Collegiate Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game for NFL draft-eligible college players, held annually in January. The event was founded in 2012 by the National Football League Players Association (NFLPA). Players predomi ...

Professional career

After completing his senior season, Watson declared for the NFL draft and received an invitation to the

. On January 17, 2015, Watson had nine carries for 55 yards and a touchdown as the National team won the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl and defeated the American team 17-0. Watson and the National team were coached by former St. Louis Rams' head coach

Mike Martz Michael Martz (born May 13, 1951) is an American football coach. Best known for his coaching tenure with the St. Louis Rams of the National Football League (NFL), he served as the offensive coordinator for the Rams' Greatest Show on Turf offens ...

as Watson won the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl MVP award for his performance. Watson was not among the 35 collegiate running backs who received an invitation to the

NFL Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footba ...

. On March 9, 2015, Watson participated at Azusa Pacific's pro day, along with five other teammates. He performed positional and combine drills for team representatives and scouts from 15 NFL teams. Running backs coaches from the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

, and

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

attended Azusa’s pro day, with the Texans' coach primarily running his workout. Watson attended a pre-draft visit with the Bengals and received the most interest from them. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Watson was projected to be a seventh round pick or priority undrafted free agent by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the 25th best running back in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com.

Cincinnati Bengals

On May 2, 2015, the

signed Watson to a three-year, $1.58 million contract after he went undrafted in the

2015 NFL Draft The 2015 NFL Draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park, from April 30 to May 2. The previous ...

. Throughout training camp, Watson competed for a roster spot against

BenJarvus Green-Ellis BenJarvus Jeremy Green-Ellis (born July 2, 1985) is a former American football running back who played for the New England Patriots and Cincinnati Bengals. Green-Ellis was signed by the Patriots as an undrafted free agent in 2008. He played co ...

Rex Burkhead Rex Burkhead (born July 2, 1990) is an American football running back for the Houston Texans of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Nebraska and was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the sixth round of the 2013 ...

Cedric Peerman Cedric Edwin Peerman (born October 10, 1986) is a former American football running back. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the sixth round of the 2009 NFL Draft and has also played for the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, and Cincinnati B ...

, and

James Wilder Jr. James Curtis Wilder Jr. (born April 14, 1992) is an American professional football running back for the Edmonton Elks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He played three seasons for the Toronto Argonauts in the CFL, winning the Grey Cup in ...

On September 5, 2015, the Bengals waived Watson and signed him to their practice squad the following day, where he spent the entire season.

Cleveland Browns

On January 21, 2016, the

signed Watson to a reserve/futures contract. Throughout training camp, he competed for a roster spot against Glenn Winston,

Raheem Mostert Dominique Raheem Mostert (born April 9, 1992) is an American football running back for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Purdue. Mostert attended New Smyrna Beach High School in New Smyrna B ...

Rajion Neal Rajion Lashad Neal (born March 28, 1992) is an American football running back who is currently a free agent. He played college football at Tennessee. Neal was signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2014, and has also been ...

, and

Jahwan Edwards Jahwan Edwards (born July 27, 1992) is an American football running back who is currently a free agent. He played college football at Ball State. He is Ball State's all-time leader in career rushing yards with 4,558 yards and rushing touchdown ...

. On September 4, 2016, he was waived by the Browns a day after making the initial 53-man roster and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He was released by the Browns on October 26, 2016.

Denver Broncos

On November 2, 2016, Watson was signed to the

' practice squad. He was released by the Broncos on December 14, 2016.

Philadelphia Eagles

On December 20, 2016, Watson was signed to the

' practice squad. He was promoted to the active roster on December 30, 2016. He scored his first career touchdown on a one-yard run on January 1, 2017, in his NFL debut against the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisi ...

. He totaled nine carries for 28 yards in the 27–13 victory. On May 4, 2017, he was released by the Eagles.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On May 18, 2017, Watson signed with the

. Watson agreed to a one-year, $465,000 contract. Throughout training camp, Watson competed for a roster spot against

Fitzgerald Toussaint Fitzgerald D'Andre Toussaint (born May 4, 1990) is a former American football running back. He played college football at Michigan and signed with the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free agent in 2014. He has also been a member of the Pittsbu ...

Knile Davis Knile Rashaad Davis (born October 5, 1991) is a former American football running back. He played college football at Arkansas and was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft. He has also had brief stints with t ...

, and

Trey Williams Trey Williams (born December 11, 1992) is an American football running back who is a free agent. He signed with the Washington Redskins as an undrafted free agent in 2015. Williams has also been a member of the Dallas Cowboys, New England Patrio ...

. He finished the 2017 preseason with 37 carries for 173 yards and one touchdown, as well as six receptions for 47 receiving yards. Head coach

Mike Tomlin Michael Pettaway Tomlin (born March 15, 1972) is an American football coach who is the head coach for the Pittsburgh Steelers of the National Football League (NFL). Since joining the Steelers in 2007, he has led the team to ten playoff runs, se ...

named Watson the third running back on the depth chart behind

Le'Veon Bell Le'Veon Andrew Bell Sr. ( ; born February 18, 1992) is an American football running back who is a free agent. He played college football at Michigan State and was drafted 48th overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the second round of the 2013 ...

and James Conner. He was assigned as the short yardage and third down back. Watson made his regular season debut in the Steelers season-opening 21-18 victory over the

. The following week, Watson had his first carry of the year for a one-yard gain during a 26–9 victory over the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. Founded in 1960 as an expansion ...

. On November 25, 2017, the Steelers released Watson and was re-signed to the practice squad three days later. Overall, he had five carries for eight rushing yards to go along with seven kick returns for 140 net yards in the 2017 season.

New York Giants

On January 24, 2018, Watson signed a reserve/future contract with the

. He was waived by the Giants on May 7, 2018.

Los Angeles Chargers

On August 22, 2018, Watson was signed by the

. He was waived on September 1, 2018.

San Diego Fleet

On September 28, 2018, Watson was signed by the

. The league ceased operations in April 2019.

References

External links

Azusa Pacific Cougars bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Terrell 1993 births Living people American football running backs Azusa Pacific Cougars football players Cincinnati Bengals players Cleveland Browns players Denver Broncos players Los Angeles Chargers players Philadelphia Eagles players Pittsburgh Steelers players Players of American football from Los Angeles New York Giants players San Diego Fleet players Sportspeople from Oxnard, California Players of American football from Ventura County, California Oxnard High School alumni