Christian Watson

2021: Appeared in 12 games with 10 starts as a senior, earning second-team AP All-America honors at WR after leading the team with a career-high 43 catches for a career-best 801 yards (18.6 avg.) and seven TDs…Earned first-team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference recognition as both a WR and an all-purpose player…Ranked No. 2 in the conference in yards per catch…Also carried the ball 15 times for 114 yards (7.6 avg.) and a TD…Returned 10 kickoffs for 227 yards (22.7 avg.), finishing the season with 1,142 all-purpose yards…Was sidelined for three playoff games before returning for the FCS title game…Vs. Valparaiso (Sept. 11): Posted two receptions for 83 yards (41.5 avg.), highlighted by a 65-yard TD catch…At Towson (Sept. 18): Hauled in three passes for 79 yards (26.3 avg.), including a 67-yard TD grab, and posted a season-long 48-yard kickoff return…Vs. Northern Iowa (Oct. 9): Posted a career-high 163 receiving yards on five catches (32.6 avg.), highlighted by a career-long 85-yard TD reception…Vs. Missouri State (Oct. 23): Registered 106 yards receiving and a TD on four grabs (26.5 avg.)…At Youngstown State (Nov. 13): Hauled in four passes for 91 yards (22.8 avg.), including a 71-yard TD grab…Vs. South Dakota (Nov. 20): Racked up a season-high 52 rushing yards on three carries (17.3 avg.), including a season-long 43-yard TD.

2021: Appeared in 12 games with 10 starts as a senior, earning second-team AP All-America honors at WR after leading the team with a career-high 43 catches for a career-best 801 yards (18.6 avg.) and seven TDs…Earned first-team All-Missouri Valley Football Conference recognition as both a WR and an all-purpose player…Ranked No. 2 in the conference in yards per catch…Also carried the ball 15 times for 114 yards (7.6 avg.) and a TD…Returned 10 kickoffs for 227 yards (22.7 avg.), finishing the season with 1,142 all-purpose yards…Was sidelined for three playoff games before returning for the FCS title game…Vs. Valparaiso (Sept. 11): Posted two receptions for 83 yards (41.5 avg.), highlighted by a 65-yard TD catch…At Towson (Sept. 18): Hauled in three passes for 79 yards (26.3 avg.), including a 67-yard TD grab, and posted a season-long 48-yard kickoff return…Vs. Northern Iowa (Oct. 9): Posted a career-high 163 receiving yards on five catches (32.6 avg.), highlighted by a career-long 85-yard TD reception…Vs. Missouri State (Oct. 23): Registered 106 yards receiving and a TD on four grabs (26.5 avg.)…At Youngstown State (Nov. 13): Hauled in four passes for 91 yards (22.8 avg.), including a 71-yard TD grab…Vs. South Dakota (Nov. 20): Racked up a season-high 52 rushing yards on three carries (17.3 avg.), including a season-long 43-yard TD.

2020/2021: Played in 10 games with eight starts as a junior, earning first-team All-America recognition as a kickoff returner from AP, Athlon and Phil Steele…Average 33.8 yards on 10 kickoff returns and was the only FCS player to register two kickoff return TDs (100, 94 yards) on the season as he tied the NDSU single-season and career records…Led the team with 19 receptions for 442 yards (23.2 avg.) and a TD…Added 116 rushing yards on 21 carries (5.5 avg.) to finish with a team-high 896 all-purpose yards…Vs. Illinois State (March 13): Posted a season-high 93 yards on four receptions (23.3 avg.)…Vs. North Dakota (March 20): Hauled in two passes for 83 yards (41.5 avg.), highlighted by a 63-yard TD grab…At Northern Iowa (April 10): Accounted for 229 all-purpose yards on his way to earning MVFC Offensive Player of the Week honors, posting two receptions for 86 yards (43.0 avg.) and a 100-yard kickoff return for a TD…At Sam Houston (May 2): Scored on a 94-yard kickoff return in an NCAA quarterfinal game.

2019:Played in all 16 games with 11 starts as a sophomore, leading the team with 34 receptions for 732 yards (21.5 avg.) and six TDs on his way to earning second-team All-MVFC honors at WR…Ranked No. 2 in the conference in yards per reception and No. 3 in receiving yards…Posted 13 carries for 162 yards (12.5 avg.) and a TD and returned four kickoffs for 70 yards (17.5 avg.)…At Youngstown State (Nov. 2): Posted a 69-yard TD reception…Vs. Western Illinois (Nov. 9): Posted a season-high 121 receiving yards on four grabs (30.3 avg.), highlighted by a 51-yard TD catch…Vs. Illinois State (Dec. 14): Registered a career-high seven receptions for 107 yards (15.3 avg.) in an NCAA quarterfinal win…Vs. Montana State (Dec. 21): Scored TDs on back-to-back offensive plays in the NCAA semifinal victory with a 75-yard reception and a career-long 70-yard run bookending a Montana State three-and-out.

2018: Appeared in 14 games with two starts as a redshirt freshman, catching nine passes for 165 yards (18.3 avg.) and returning two kickoffs for 51 yards (25.5 avg.)…Vs. Southern Illinois (Nov. 17): Posted a season-long 48-yard reception.

HIGH SCHOOL: Averaged 17.1 yards per catch with eight receiving TDs as a senior at H.B. Plant High School (Tampa, Fla.), helping his team to a 13-1 record and a state runner-up finish in 2016…Posted 587 all-purpose yards as a senior…Was a two-year letterman, playing WR and safety…Also competed in track and field, participating in the long jump and triple jump as well as the 200-meter and 4x100-meter events.

PERSONAL: Given name Christian Justus Watson…Born in Phoenix, Ariz. …His father, Tim, was drafted by the Packers in the sixth round of the 1993 NFL Draft and went on to play defensive back for the Kansas City Chiefs (1993-95), N.Y. Giants (1995) and Philadelphia Eagles (1997)…His older brother, Tre, played linebacker at the University of Illinois (2015-17) and the University of Maryland (2018)…Visited schools and volunteered at camps for kids and with food drives while in college.