By August, William “Pop” Watson III was comfortably a Nebraska commitment, in the fold for several months. But with coaches touring a New England circuit of camps at various top high schools, he wanted to throw to his uncommitted receiver teammates at Springfield (Mass.) Central to help them catch a recruiter’s eye.

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As the camp commenced, the group of 30 or 40 coaches, which included Virginia Tech, started migrating to the quarterback who was putting on a show.

“They were all huddled around him, watching him throw the football,” his father and coach Bill Watson said. “He kind of blew everyone away.”

The connection the Hokies made at the time seemed like a footnote. Watson was a firm Cornhuskers pledge who had a close connection with offensive coordinator Mark Whipple, the former UMass head coach and Pitt offensive coordinator Watson called “a mastermind,” particularly for his work with Heisman finalist Kenny Pickett.

But Nebraska’s situation changed. Head coach Scott Frost got the axe in September. Whipple wasn’t retained when new coach Matt Rhule was hired late last month, so Watson started considering his options. He turned to a school that had kept him up with him the whole time — Virginia Tech.

“Those guys have stayed persistent throughout the whole process, even when I was committed,” Pop Watson said. “Virginia Tech never stopped recruiting me.”

“Those coaches have been all over him,” said Bill Watson, who noted his son had also drawn interest from a couple of SEC and ACC schools recently. “The way they recruited him was tremendous, even when he had no plans of going anywhere else other than Nebraska. Just, ‘I’m not going to give up and we’re going to put our hat in the arena regardless of being an underdog in this battle.’ And they just fought, fought, fought. And there was really no other choice.”

let’s do it

— William “Pop” Watson III (@WW3thefuture) December 12, 2022

Watson made an official visit this past weekend to Blacksburg, where he committed, one of three offensive pledges to open the stretch run before the early signing period. Tech also landed Ayden Greene, a 6-foot-1, 180-pound receiver from Powell, Tenn., who was previously committed to Cincinnati, and Jeremiah Coney, a 6-foot, 194-pound running back from Hermitage High in Richmond who flipped from Appalachian State. It gives the Hokies the 33rd-ranked class nationally and the sixth-ranked class in the ACC in the 247Sports Composite.

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Though Greene is ranked higher (No. 536 nationally to Watson at No. 642), it’s the 6-foot, 177-pound Watson who’s sure to garner more curiosity, particularly as the second quarterback in the Hokies’ class, joining Dylan Wittke out of Buford, Georgia, a commitment since May. They’re part of the next wave of Hokies quarterbacks after veteran Grant Wells that includes signees from the past two classes, Tahj Bullock in 2021 and Devin Farrell in ’22.

Watson, a U.S. Army Bowl selection who plans to enroll early, threw for close to 8,000 yards and accounted for more than 100 touchdowns in his high school career — some stats that were widely cited this weekend were incomplete — winning state championships as a freshman and junior (there were no playoffs his sophomore year due to COVID-19) and finishing as the state runner-up as a senior. It’s a career he called “one of a kind.”

“He’s a winner,” Bill Watson said. “And people should know that. And when I say he’s a winner, it’s in everything he’s done. And they’re going to get someone who knows how to win and he loves football and is willing to do whatever needs to be done to be the best. And he expects to win. I think it’s going to be his spirit and his energy that is something that’s contagious.”

A dual threat, Pop Watson thinks he fits well in the Hokies’ scheme, which features RPOs, deep shots and integrates plenty of quarterback runs. Both he and his father consider him a better passer than runner — something they think got Tech’s attention.

“I think the running game is something the does as an addition to,” Bill Watson said, “but he sits in that pocket, he makes his reads and he puts the ball on a dime.”

The elder Watson coached his son his whole life, outside of some years in middle school, including his entire high school career. And he’s coached him hard — harder than other kids, both admit. It’s not an arrangement for the faint of heart, but the younger Watson wouldn’t want it any other way.

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“He holds me to a different expectation,” Pop Watson said. “I can’t make a mistake in practice. I know that sounds crazy, but if you make a mistake, it’s almost the end of the world with that guy.”

“I think that’s a compliment,” Bill Watson said. “I tell him if somebody’s hard on you, that means their expectations of you are great. And I knew he could handle it. And I don’t know if everyone’s kid can handle me full throttle. I’m hard on all my kids. That’s why we win. …

“I don’t really want my kid playing for anyone who doesn’t see him playing at a high level. And it’s disappointing anytime that he doesn’t play at a high level. So that’s what I was.”

The younger Watson would know what demanding is. His “Pop” nickname came from his grandfather, who liked to say that the youngster had an old soul and acted like the boss, even when he was 2 or 3 years old.

“I was really impulsive,” Pop Watson said. “Whatever I thought to do, I did it.”

There’s a blurred line between impulsivity and confidence, though. And the quarterback, now on the verge of college, certainly seems to be bursting with the latter.

“He’s very confident, not just of himself, but in those around him,” Bill Watson said. “Because he knows when you put in the work, there’s no reason not to be confident. You know you can make those plays, you know you can make those throws. Virginia Tech is getting a kid that knows how to win, someone I think everyone can get excited about.”

(Photo: Courtesy of Bill Watson)