DT Watson impressed on trip to Duke

Defensive tackle Josh Watson out of Chatham (Va.) Hargrave Military Academy took his second official visit this past weekend. The 6-foot-3, 285-pounder headed down to Duke. What did he think?

"It was real good, real fun there," he stated. "They treated me like a king. I went to a great hotel and fancy dinners.

"I got there on Friday with my parents who joined me. I got there kind of early and got to meet the coaches before the other recruits got there. Then, I settled in at the hotel and came back out for a social gathering with the players. I went to have dinner and then got to meet my host, Austin Kelly."

Watson went on about his time with Kelly.

"We had fun that night," he said. "He was a real good guy. He was real cool like me and laid back. We listen to a lot of the same music and he's a real good host. I just took it all in like a sponge and interacted with all the guys. They told me about the school and how nice it is there and how the academics are hard, but they have a lot of support to help."

On Saturday, Watson got to experience Duke on game day by taking in a basketball game and then heading to a few presentations.

"The basketball game was jam-packed," he said. "I didn't realize how small that gym was, but the fans were wild like on TV.

"After that I went to a lot of presentations and academic tours. Then we went to Coach Cutcliffe's house."

Before heading out today, the three-star lineman met with Cutcliffe again.

"That went good," he said. "He told me that he'd be honored to coach me and likes how I am not only on film, but also as a person. He was impressed by me and would be honored to be my coach.

"He also did talk about playing time and said I'd definitely be in the rotation and there is a chance to start depending on how ready I am."

Overall the No. 34 prep school prospect was impressed.

"They have a great atmosphere and the people there are really nice," he said. "Random people came up and were very friendly and the campus was nice of course. It was a fun time. It'll be hard to top that."

Watson has two more visits set at this time.

"I've got Clemson next week and then North Carolina after that," he said. "We have a combine tomorrow and if a school that I like wants to offer me, I might take a midweek trip somewhere still for my fifth official."

Watson plans to enroll in January wherever he commits to.