Desmond Watson (born ) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

nose tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

for the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

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for the

Florida Gators The Florida Gators are the College sports in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, Florida, Gainesville. The University of Florida, its athletic program, its alumni an ...

. From Armwood High School, Watson is known for his size, standing at and weighing over . One of the largest players in

NCAA Division I NCAA Division I (D-I) is the highest division of intercollegiate athletics sanctioned by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) in the United States, which accepts players globally. D-I schools include the major collegiate athlet ...

football history, he played for Florida from 2021 to 2024. He signed with the Buccaneers as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under a contract at present ...

in 2025.

Early life

Born in

Plant City, Florida Plant City is an incorporated city in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States, approximately midway between Brandon and Lakeland along Interstate 4. It is part of the Tampa Bay area. The population was 39,764 at the 2020 census. Despite ma ...

, Watson is one of six children and was the lightest at birth. He quickly increased in size and by the time he was in peewee youth

leagues he was already a "giant", according to '' The Naples Daily News''. He attended Armwood High School in Seffner, playing football and participating in

shot put The shot put is a track-and-field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical Ball (sports), ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. For men, the sport has been a part of the Olympic Games, modern Olympics since their 1896 Summer Olym ...

. By his junior year, he weighed , a number heavier than every

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

in the

(NFL) at the time. Watson played 13 games as a junior in 2019, totaling 65 tackles, 34 of which were for a loss, as well as 10.0 sacks, helping Armwood compile a record of 12–2 and make a deep run in the state playoffs. He was named a second-team all-state selection for his performance. As a

senior Senior (shortened as Sr.) means "the elder" in Latin and is often used as a suffix for the elder of two or more people in the same family with the same given name, usually a parent or grandparent. It may also refer to: * Senior (name), a surname ...

, he played eight games, posting 39 tackles and 6.0 sacks. Watson finished his time at Armwood with 158 total tackles, including 113 solo stops, 24.0 sacks and nine quarterback hurries. A four-star recruit, he received offers to play

from several major schools, including

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

Florida State Florida State University (FSU or Florida State) is a Public university, public research university in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preeminent university in the s ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

and

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

, eventually choosing to commit to play for the

College career

When Watson enrolled at Florida in 2021, he weighed . He was able to lower his weight to to begin his

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season. He appeared in all 13 games on the year, seeing action on

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and as a reserve defensive tackle, thus becoming one of the largest players in

football history. He played a total of 150 snaps and saw defensive action in eight games, recording seven tackles and half a sack. Between his freshman and

sophomore In the United States, a sophomore ( or ) is a person in the second year at an educational institution; usually at a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of Post-secondary school, post-secondary educatio ...

seasons, his weight increased to . Watson became a starter as a sophomore in 2022, appearing in 13 games, 10 as a starter, and recording 25 tackles and 1.5 . He stripped the ball away against

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

while stiff-arming quarterback Spencer Rattler, which became a

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. Watson entered spring camp in 2023 weighing , but later dropped his weight. He appeared in all 12 games during the 2023 season and posted 11 tackles and one tackle for loss. He entered spring camp in 2024 with a weight of , later dropping back down to for the 2024 season. As a senior in 2024, he played in all 13 games and totaled 20 tackles, a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry. In his last career game, the 2024 Gasparilla Bowl, he recorded one carry and gained one yard for a first down. Additionally, Watson held up Tulane quarterback Ty Thompson in the air, as Thompson attempted to rush on a 3rd and 2 until referees ended the play. He concluded his collegiate career having appeared in every game and made 63 tackles and 1.5 sacks. Although not invited to the

NFL Scouting 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 Foot ...

, Watson impressed at his

pro day The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

. Measuring at and , he completed 36

bench press The bench press or chest press is a weight training exercise where a person presses a weight upwards while lying horizontally on a weight training bench. The bench press is a Compound movements, compound movement, with the primary muscles involved ...

reps, which would have been the top mark at the combine, and ran the

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...

in 5.93 seconds, in addition to recording a

vertical jump A vertical jump or vertical leap is the act of jumping upwards into the air. It can be an exercise for building both endurance and strength, and is also a standard test for measuring athletic performance. It may also be referred to as a ''Sargent ...

of .

Professional career

Watson, who went undrafted during the 2025 NFL draft, signed as an

with the

Personal life

Watson wore number 21 to honor his younger brother, who became disabled after suffering a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

References

External links

Tampa Bay Buccaneers bioFlorida Gators bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Desmond 2000s births Living people American football defensive tackles Sportspeople from Plant City, Florida Florida Gators football players Year of birth uncertain Players of American football from Hillsborough County, Florida Tampa Bay Buccaneers players