Tazim Wajid Wajed (born James Timothy Watson Jr.; August 13, 1970) 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 ...

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to risk management, the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are ...

in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

. He played professionally for the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

, the

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. ...

, and the

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 ...

Early life

Watson was born in

Fort Valley, Georgia Fort Valley is a city in and the county seat of Peach County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 8,780. The city is in the Warner Robins metropolitan area and the Macon–Warner Robins combined statisti ...

. He was a three-sport athlete in

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

lettering Lettering is an umbrella term that covers the art of drawing letters, instead of simply writing them. Lettering is considered an art form, where each letter in a phrase or quote acts as an illustration. Each letter is created with attention to d ...

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 ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

, and

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

. An All-Middle Georgia selection following his senior football season, Watson graduated with honors from

Peach County High School Peach County High School is a public high school located in Fort Valley, Georgia, United States. The school is part of the Peach County School District, which serves Peach County. Mission Statement: To graduate college and career ready student ...

College career

Watson 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 ...

Howard University Howard University (Howard) is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commissi ...

. He holds the record for blocked kicks at Howard, with seven. He has the distinction of being the first athlete in the history of the school to be named to the

GTE GTE Corporation, formerly General Telephone & Electronics Corporation (1955–1982), was the largest independent telephone company in the United States during the days of the Bell System. The company operated from 1926, with roots tracing furth ...

Academic

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

Team (1992). Watson earned a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

cum laude in

fashion merchandising Fashion merchandising can be defined as the planning and promotion of sales by presenting a product to the right market at the proper time, by carrying out organized, skillful advertising, using attractive displays, etc. Merchandising, within fashio ...

and business marketing, then completed post-graduate studies in athletic administration. In 1992 he became a member of

Omega Psi Phi Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. () is a historically African-American fraternity. The fraternity was founded on November 17, 1911, by three Howard University juniors Edgar Amos Love, Oscar James Cooper and Frank Coleman, and their faculty advi ...

fraternity. Most recently, Watson was inducted into the Howard University Athletic Hall of Fame, class of 2005.

Professional career

Watson was drafted by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

in the 6th round (156th overall) of the

1993 NFL Draft The 1993 NFL draft was the procedure by which National Football League teams selected amateur college football players. It is officially known as the NFL Annual Player Selection Meeting. The draft was held April 25–26, 1993, at the Marriot Ma ...

. He later played for the Kansas City Chiefs, New York Giants, and Philadelphia Eagles. He also played in the

World League of American Football NFL Europe League (simply called NFL Europe and known in its final season as NFL Europa League) was a professional American football league that functioned as the developmental minor league of the National Football League (NFL). Originally f ...

for the

Barcelona Dragons Two American football franchises have been referred to as the Barcelona Dragons: * Barcelona Dragons (NFL Europe), active in NFL Europe between 1991 and 2003; * Barcelona Dragons (ELF) The Barcelona Dragons are an American football team based in ...

and the

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

for the

Arizona Rattlers The Arizona Rattlers are a professional indoor American football team based in Phoenix, Arizona. They are currently members of the Indoor Football League (IFL). The Rattlers were founded in 1992 as an expansion team in the Arena Football League ...

Life after the NFL

In 2018 Watson officially changed his legal name to Tazim Wajid Wajed. He is currently retired, and supports the professional pursuits of his wife and children. During his post football playing career, he has been an assistant football coach in NFL Europe with the Rhine Fire and Scottish Claymores, an NFL Coaching Fellowship Participant with the New Orleans Saints, a financial professional, fitness trainer, lifestyle coach, and motivational speaker. He is an accomplished public speaker and author, and serves as Founding Chair of UPLIFT Community Fellowship, a philanthropic charitable community service organization in Columbus, Georgia. He remains active in his local community through charitable work via involvement with his fraternities (the Diplomats Fraternity, Inc. and Omega Psi Phi, Inc.), the NFL Alumni Association, and his family’s personal philanthropic organization UPLIFT Community Fellowship, Inc., which provides food and toys annually to families in need during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. Tazim sponsors youth football and basketball programs, instructs youth sports camps, and conducts life-skills seminars for young students and scholar-athletes. Wajed is married to wife Lisa, and is the father of five children: Tré, Alexus,

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

, and twins Aubrey and Bella. Tré and Christian followed in their father's footsteps playing professional football. Tré signed as an UDFA with the Miami Dolphins in 2019, spent a season in the XFL with the Dallas Renegades, and currently plays in the CFL with the Edmonton Elks. Christian plays wide receiver, and was drafted by the Packers in the

2022 NFL Draft The 2022 NFL Draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The first round was held on Thursday, April 28, and w ...

References

* http://www.blogtalkradio.com/hardhittingsportstalk * http://staff.sportsblog.com/posts/10237010/congratulations-to-the-winners-of-december-s-pro-leaderboard-.html

External links