College of San Mateo quarterback Richie Watts is the picture of efficiency | Local
In just his second collegiate start, quarterback Richie Watts was the picture of efficiency.
The freshman led the College of San Mateo Bulldogs to a 35-14 win over Modesto Junior College in last Saturday’s non-conference matchup. With the win CSM improved to 3-0. And the passing clip Watts amassed was unmatched by any CSM quarterback in recent history.
Watts was named Northern California Football Conference Offensive Player of the Week after he posted a 90 percent completion rate against Modesto, going 18-of-20 passing for 291 yards and a touchdown. As indicated by the yardage total, there weren’t many cheapies in the bunch.
“He didn’t have a whole lot of quick game,” CSM head coach Tim Tulloch said. “More of them were down the field progression reads. Bottom line, he made quick decisions. He threw the ball and got the ball to guys that were in space. And when you have a 90 percent completion rate, you have a quarterback that’s protecting the ball and making great decisions.”
Watts’s best chuck came on the game’s third play from scrimmage, a 53-yard loft to Raymello Murphy that saw the sophomore receiver make an acrobatic leap to haul it in at the Modesto 3. The Bulldogs scored on a 3-yard Ezra Moleni run on the following play.
“Ray is always going to make you a play … and he just went up and did it,” Watts said. “It’s definitely fun throwing to guys like that.”
Watts went on to complete big gainers of 22, 33, 17, 18, 29, 26 and 20 yards, as well as a 16-yard scoring strike to Colin Giffen at the start of the fourth quarter.
The completion percentage was a lifetime best, Watts said.
“Definitely haven’t (done that),” Watts said. “But I think a lot of it our offense line was great. There’s so much support around the quarterback position, playing on this team is a dream.”
This week, Watts is tabbed to make his third start with the Bulldogs traveling to American River College in Sacramento. With Watts graduating from Rocklin High School some 20 minutes from the ARC campus, Saturday’s game marks a sort of homecoming.
Watts landed at CSM with recruiting help from his uncle, Bert Watts, an assistant coach with the Denver Broncos.
“When he talked about San Mateo, that was the place I wanted to be,” Watts said.
Watts did not take the Week 1 start for CSM. That honor went to freshman Anthony Grigsby, though Watts saw time off the bench and scored a rushing touchdown the Bulldogs’ 45-28 win over Sierra College.
Watts and Grigsby are two of four CSM quarterbacks currently on roster who grayshirted behind sophomore Luke Bottari last season, along with Jerry Johnson and Raymond Price III.
“We’re close for sure,” Watts said. “We all gray shirted together last year. … We got to know each other on a deeper level than you otherwise would.”