http://catzone.cjonline.com/stories/101206/cat_wattsnfl.shtmlHis immediate focus is on Saturday's 6:10 p.m. game against Nebraska. That's the essence of Marcus Watts.
But Kansas State's do-it-all player made a slightly surprising revelation Tuesday. Only a junior, Watts has started thinking NFL.
"That's my dream," he said. "I've got another year after this year. It's a long ways away. That'll come down the road, but it's every kid's dream to get to the next level."
It might not be far-fetched, either. Anyone who witnessed Watts' most recent performance understands as much.
In K-State's 31-27 come-from-behind win over Oklahoma State, the 6-foot-2, 180-pound free safety from Hays blocked a punt, made four solo tackles, broke up one game-winning pass attempt and intercepted another on the game's final play. Perhaps most impressively, he accomplished most of those feats after injuring his right hand during the block.
In short, he was like a VISA card -- everywhere you want to be.
"I've got all the respect in the world for that guy," Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy said. "I don't know much about him, where he came from. But I know he plays hard every down, I know he makes plays on special teams, I know he runs, gives good effort.
"In my opinion, you want a hundred guys like that."
Gundy then racheted the hyperbole up a notch. In praising Watts for his passion and tenacity, Gundy compared his style to that of former NFL greats Dick Butkus, Ray Nitschke and Gale Sayers.
"You have to give the guy credit for saying, 'I like playing college football. I'm going to give it my all, and that's what I'm going to do the rest of my life,'" he said.
After moving from wide receiver to the defensive backfield prior to the 2005 season, Watts was an instant success. He finished his sophomore campaign as the Wildcats' second-leading tackler with 71 stops -- one behind linebacker Brandon Archer -- and likely would have been tops on the team had he not dislocated his hip in the first half of the finale against Missouri.
Watts started this season as a backup to sophomore Andrew Erker, mainly because coach Ron Prince wanted to make sure he had recovered completely from the hip injury. But his contributions were evident long before he regained his starting spot two weeks ago.
Under the direction of defensive coordinator Raheem Morris and graduate assistant Scott Frost, Watts is tied for fourth in the Big 12 with three interceptions, leads K-State with two forced fumbles and is seventh on the team with 18 tackles.
"I think I'm more comfortable with the position," he said. "Last year, I used a lot of my athletic ability and a lot of my instincts, and now I'm learning how to play the position of safety more and more.
"I think that's a credit to Coach Morris and Coach Frost for teaching me what I need to do as a safety at this level and to be a safety at the next level."
Ah, there it is again -- the next level. But just how feasible is that dream?
"It's attainable for anybody," Watts said. "You've just got to have the will to get there."
Morris, who came to K-State after working two seasons as an assistant defensive backs coach for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, apparently agrees.
"He's like, 'If you just do what you do and you play well in big games, they'll notice you," Watts said.
