Giving back
Former Lincoln, FSU player set to mentor youths in football camp
By St. Clair Murraine
Outlook staff writer
Outside of his high school and college football coaches, Patrick Watkins didn’t hear many voices telling him his future would be in the NFL.
There was also the stereotype that being from Tallahassee would put him at a disadvantage. He knew better and eventually he proved the naysayers wrong, playing 10 years of professional football after being drafted in 2006.
Watkins, a married father of three children, is back home in Tallahassee now and encourages every young athlete – no matter their sport to keep believing in their dreams. For a week, starting on June 14, Watkins will hold his second football camp for athletes ages 7-15.
Watkins will run the camp under the umbrella of i9sports.
“It gives them a chance to believe in something they can achieve,” Watkins said. “I was in a lot of these kids’ position. I try to explain that even though we are in Tallahassee and it seems kind of small you have a chance to do big things. I’m living proof of that.”
The camp takes place at Florida High, running from 8:30 a.m. to 11. Registration is open at the i9 website (https://www.i9sports.com/).
Watkins’ path to professional football started at Lincoln where he played on state championship teams for coach David Wilson in 1999 and 2001. He played cornerback at FSU from 2002 to 2005.
Watkins was taken in the fifth round of the 2006 draft and went on to play five years in the National Football League with the Dallas Cowboys and the San Diego Chargers. His last five seasons were spent in the Canadian Football League with the Toronto Argonauts and Edmonton Eskimos.
When the camp gets underway it will be the second one for Watkins in the last three years. It’s an opportunity that he said he feels obligated to provide for participants of the camp.
“I have something to offer kids in football,” he said. “One of the things I was taught growing up was if you get a chance to give something back you do.”
