Milton Gunnar Watson (born January 11, 2000) is an American football quarterback for the Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Troy Trojans.
| Buffalo Bills | |
|---|---|
| Position: | Quarterback |
| Personal information | |
| Born: | January 11, 2000 Macon, Georgia, U.S. |
| Height: | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight: | 210 lb (95 kg) |
| Career information | |
| High school: | Taylor County (Butler, Georgia) |
| College: | Troy (2018–2023) |
| Undrafted: | 2024 |
| Career history | |
| |
| Roster status: | Undrafted free agent |
| Career highlights and awards | |
Early life and high school edit
Watson grew up in Butler, Georgia and attended Taylor County High School where he lettered in football and baseball.[1][2] He was rated a three-star recruit and committed to play college football at Troy over offers from Austin Peay, Mercer and South Alabama.[3][4]
College career edit
During Watson's true freshman season in 2018, he played in two games as a reserve quarterback and finished the season completing 8 out of 14 passing attempts for 45 yards.[5] During the 2019 season, he played as the backup quarterback playing in six games and finishing the year with completing 13 out of 22 passing attempts for 89 yards.[6] During the 2020 season, Watson was named as the starting quarterback.[7] He started in nine games during the season and finished the season with completing 211 out of 307 passing attempts for 2,141 yards, 16 touchdowns and seven interceptions.[8] During the game against Texas State, he made 33 completions which had him named the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week, a Manning Award Star of the Week[9] and the Davey O'Brien Great 8 List.[10] During the 2021 season, he played in eight games and finished the season with completing 140 out of 228 passing attempts for 1,613 yards, eight touchdowns and four interceptions.[11] During the 2022 season, he played in 13 games and finished the season with completing 206 out of 335 passing attempts for 2,818 yards and 14 touchdowns.[12] He was named the MVP of the 2022 Sun Belt Conference Football Championship Game after completing 12 out of 17 passing attempts for 318 yards and three touchdowns.[13][14][15]
College statistics edit
| Season | Games | Passing | Rushing | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Record | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Avg | TD | Int | Rtg | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | ||
| Troy Trojans | ||||||||||||||||
| 2018 | 2 | 0 | — | 8 | 12 | 66.7 | 45 | 3.8 | 0 | 0 | 98.2 | 4 | -18 | -4.5 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 6 | 0 | — | 13 | 22 | 59.1 | 89 | 4.0 | 0 | 0 | 93.1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 9 | 9 | 4−5 | 211 | 301 | 70.1 | 2,141 | 7.1 | 16 | 7 | 142.7 | 30 | -66 | -2.2 | 0 | |
| 2021 | 8 | 7 | 3−4 | 140 | 228 | 61.4 | 1,613 | 7.1 | 8 | 4 | 128.9 | 27 | -64 | -2.4 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 13 | 12 | 10−2 | 206 | 335 | 61.5 | 2,818 | 8.4 | 14 | 12 | 138.8 | 61 | -173 | -2.8 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 14 | 14 | 11−3 | 268 | 439 | 61.0 | 3,569 | 8.1 | 27 | 6 | 146.9 | 51 | -106 | -2.1 | 1 | |
| Career[16] | 52 | 42 | 28−14 | 846 | 1,337 | 63.3 | 10,275 | 7.7 | 65 | 29 | 139.5 | 173 | -427 | -2.5 | 4 | |
References edit
- ^ Hall, Erik (September 24, 2020). "Gunnar Watson: 5 things to know about the Troy University football quarterback". Montgomery Advertiser. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
- ^ "Gunnar Watson". Troy Trojans.
- ^ "Gunnar Watson, Taylor County, Pro-Style Quarterback". 247sports.com. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
- ^ "Gunnar Watson, 2018 Pro Style Quarterback, Troy". Rivals.com. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
- ^ "Gunnar Watson 2018 Gamelog". Sports Reference. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
- ^ "Gunnar Watson 2019 Gamelog". Sports Reference. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
- ^ "Troy names Gunnar Watson starting quarterback". Montgomery Advertiser. August 22, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
- ^ "Gunnar Watson 2020 Gamelog". Sports Reference. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
- ^ "Eight Quarterbacks Named Manning Award Stars of the Week 10/12/2020". Allstate Sugar Bowl. October 12, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
- ^ "Gunnar Watson Named Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Week & Davey O'Brien Great 8". Troy Trojans. October 12, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
- ^ "Gunnar Watson 2021 Gamelog". Sports Reference. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
- ^ "Gunnar Watson 2022 Gamelog". Sports Reference. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
- ^ "Troy dominates Coastal Carolina early, holds on to win Sun Belt championship, 45-26". AL.com. December 3, 2022. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
- ^ "Watson, Troy win Sun Belt title over Coastal Carolina, 45-26". WSFA. December 3, 2022. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
- ^ "No. 24 Troy and No. 25 UTSA Set to Play in the 2022 Duluth Trading Cure Bowl". Cure Bowl. December 4, 2022. Retrieved September 25, 2023.
- ^ "Gunnar Watson College Stats". Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved October 3, 2023.