JamarWatson

Career

Completed his Wildcat career playing in 49 career games with 29 starts, including 19 in a row
Totaled 107 tackles, 28.5 TFL, 18.5 sacks, 14 quarterback hurries, five forced fumbles, four PBUs, one interception and one fumble recovery in his career
His 18.5 career sacks ranks fifth in school history
Had a season-high 40 tackles as a senior, including a career-best eight tackles in the win over South Carolina on Senior Day (12/5/2020)
Earned second-team All-SEC by Phil Steele in 2020
Part of a senior class who won 37 games (most in a five-season span since 1949-53), won 20 SEC games, most in a five-year span in school history, and who went to five straight bowl games, tying the school record … They also notched victories over six ranked opponents, ended the 31-game losing streak to Florida and won at Tennessee for the first time since 1984
Graduated in May of 2020 with a degree in sociology and a criminology minor
SEC Fall Academic HonoR Roll (2017) and SEC First-Year Academic Honor Roll (2016-17)

2020 – Senior (Team Captain)

Second-Team All-SEC (Phil Steele)
Started in all 11 games
Had 40 total tackles in 2020 (seventh on the team), along with a team-high five quarterback hurries, 10.0 tackles for loss, 5.0 sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception
Ranked fourth in the SEC in tackles for loss and 12th in sacks
Charted a career-high eight tackles, including 2.5 for loss, and caused two fumbles in the win over South Carolina … First UK player with at least eight tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and two caused fumbles since Danny Trevathan at Georgia in 2011
Made his first career interception in the fourth quarter vs. Mississippi State
Elected one of 10 team captains
Preseason Second-Team All-SEC (Athlon Sports, Phil Steele)
Bednarik Award Watch List

2019 – Junior

Third-team linebacker (PFF)
Started in 11 of 13 games, including nine straight
Had 36 tackles and a team-high 11.5 TFL as well as a team-best seven QB hurries
Also had 6.5 sacks (second on the team behind Calvin Taylor Jr.), one forced fumble and one fumble recovery
Ranked tied for sixth in the SEC in sacks and 10th in TFL
Has 18.5 career TFL and 13.5 career sacks
Totaled three tackles, including two for loss, in UK’s win over Virginia Tech in the Belk Bowl
Charted a season-high six tackles, including two quarterback sacks, along with a fumble recovery in the regular-season finale vs. Louisville
Had a great night rushing the passer with a career-high two quarterback sacks, along with a pair of quarterback hurries and four total tackles at South Carolina
Had five tackles at Mississippi State

2018 – Sophomore

Saw action 12 of 13 games with seven starting assignments
Totaled 24 tackles, 5.0 sacks, 5.0 tackles for loss, three PBUs and one forced fumble
Second on the team behind National Defensive Player of the Year Josh Allen in sacks with 5.0 … Ranked 19th overall in the SEC
Had a quarterback sack vs. Vanderbilt, becoming the first Wildcat with a sack in four straight games since Josh Allen began the 2017 season with a sack in the first six games
In the win over South Carolina, had two tackles, a sack, a forced fumble and a PBU
Recorded four tackles in the win over No. 14 Mississippi State, including a sack
Had a career-best six tackles and a pass breakup in his first career start vs. Central Michigan

2017 – Freshman-RS

2016 – Freshman

High School

A three-star recruit who ranks as a top 100 outside linebacker by Scout despite not playing football until his junior year of high school
Dual sport athlete in basketball and football
Came on the recruiting scene after a great junior season which saw him chart 74 tackles and a 75- yard interception return for a touchdown
As a senior, he helped lead the Mustangs to the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference playoff berth for the first time in five years with 59 tackles, including five sacks and two interceptions, one he returned 68 yards for a touchdown
Coached by Keith Goganious
As standout basketball player, he also received several college scholarship offers after averaging 11.4 points during his junior year
Earned back-to-back MVP honors at Bishop McNamara in basketball
Chose UK after receiving football offers from Old Dominion, Miami (Ohio), Boston College, Hampton, Virginia and Rutgers

Personal

Community Cats

One of three players chosen to participate in a week-long service trip to Ethiopia in May of 2019, where he helped deliver essential nutrition, supplies, hope and love to families living in Korah, a slum made up of all the trash accumulated in Addis Ababa; Visited an orphanage; Took teenagers from Korah to play arcade games and see the Avengers movie; Took a group of less fortunate boys to experience their home country in ways they had never seen before; Paired with a feeding program that supplies meals to government schools in Cherkos, a poorer region in Addis Ababa, helping serve meals to the kids

Boogie Says