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Audio Interview -- Player Spotlight (02.09.10) -- LISTEN HERE

SCOUT'S TAKE

Skinny: Watson last season had 46 total tackles with eight tackles for loss and one interception. He has good size at 6’2, 226 and like all Florida State linebackers can run. He has the ability to play both the weak side and strong side linebacker position and does a good job against the run and the pass. Some people might be looking and saying why is Watson ranked at the number four overall prospect in ACC, well the thinking is that going into his senior season, he will get better with more experience and be able to make more plays in the defense then he has in the past.

Stock: Watson is poised for a break out senior season and should end up with a second round grade when it is all said and done.

NEWS

03.02.10 - The NFL Combine is going down and Watson is putting on a bit of a show. He was a top performer in the 40-yard dash, the vertical jump, the 20-yard shuttle and the 60-yard shuttle. Watson’s 40 time was the second-best among linebackers. He ran a 4.56 there. His vertical jump was tied for second-best among linebackers. He reached 40 inches. He also tied for second at his position in the 20-yard shuttle, with a 4.11. And he was third in the 60-yard shuttle, with an 11.35. – Orlando Sentinel

01.01.10 - Florida State linebacker Dekoda Watson has officially accepted invitations to play in the Senior Bowl at Ladd-Peebles Stadium next month. Watson was a second team All-ACC selection this season after posting career high numbers in sacks (4.5), tackles (60) and tackles for a loss (10). The Seminoles' defensive captain this season, Watson has 179 tackles for his career to go along with 29.5 tackles for a loss and two interceptions.

06.18.09 - The Florida State football team held its annual conditioning show. Linebacker Dekoda Watson ran a 4.39. That was the fastest time on the defense (Seminoles cornerback Patrick Robinson didn't run).

06.10.09 - Florida State strength and conditioning coach Todd Stroud also is quick to praise senior linebacker Dekoda Watson for rehabilitating his surgically repaired left elbow. Last season's fourth-leading tackler is back from Tommy John surgery that kept him out of spring practice. The starting strongside (or "SAM") linebacker, who has also been bothered by knee injures during his career, has said his knee is fine. "Dekoda is full speed," Stroud told the Tallahassee Democrat. "He has gained his body weight back. In fact, he's bigger right now than he's ever been. He weighs 232 (up from 226 pounds last season) and he's doing everything in the weight room. He has been medically cleared."

01.29.09 - Florida State junior linebacker Dekoda Watson recently underwent Tommy John surgery and will miss spring practice. Florida State director of sports medicine Randy Oravetz confirmed that Watson underwent the surgery, and that he’ll miss spring practice. Watson, one of FSU's best defensive players, battled elbow problems throughout the season. He finished the season with 46 tackles, fourth-most on the team.

11.27.08 - Linebacker Dekoda Watson's exuberance for the game, his passion for Florida State football, are unmistakable. You can see it in his smile, or at times his tears of joy when he's on the field. You can feel it, even from afar, when he fearlessly and, at times, recklessly collides with a ball carrier. And you can hear it when he candidly talks about playing through pain. "Early in the season, I knew for a fact I wanted to leave Florida State after the season because of the whole cheating scandal," said Watson, referring to the academic misconduct that involved him and 60 other student-athletes in 10 sports and three former university employees. No longer, the Tallahassee Democrat reports. Watson, who said he's re-energized and committed to returning for his senior season, sees a bright future with Florida State, one that could begin in earnest with Saturday's regular-season finale against No. 2-ranked Florida. If he and the rest of the No. 23 Seminoles can defy the odds, they would regain some status as one of the nation's elite programs. "I want to be part of something special," Watson said.