A few weeks ago, Jelani Watkins committed to LSU on a football and track and field scholarship. It’s fitting because he has always found a balance between football and track careers. 

“Right now, they’re balanced,” says Watkins, whose nickname is “Red”. “ I put the same amount of balance into both sports.”

When he first started track, he didn’t win all that much, he says. It was in middle school when he started winning. By the eighth grade, his best marks were  11.13(100m), 22.58(200m) and 20-05.25(LJ).

It wasn’t until he arrived at Klein Forest HS that practices began to get tougher and he had to work at it.

In the fall, he played football. At 5-08 150lbs, he was speedy and though he practiced at wide receiver with the varsity, he never played a varsity game. In the winter, he played basketball. Then came the track season.

“When I got there, I got thrown into the fire early,” he says with a long sigh. “ I went straight to varsity. The workouts they were doing were crazy. My mentality was strong enough to handle it though so I was good.”

He adjusted well and by the end of the season he had finished sixth in the 200m at the Texas 6A State meet in 21.06(1.8).  In the summer AAU season, he ran the 100m in a personal best of 10.59(+1.3). He hadn’t run the event in the high school season because he didn’t feel his start was up to par and he needed to work on it.

His sophomore year, he played wide receiver racking up 313 yards on 23 receptions. He didn’t play basketball that season and in track with more experience he began to run better and added the 100m.

“My freshman year I wanted to do the 100m, but I didn't take it that seriously. When I got to my sophomore year, I wanted to lock in on it more. I started working to improve my start so I tried the 100.”

He lowered his 100m best to 10.21(+3.7) and then won the state championship in the 200m in 20.78(-0.4). He anchored his team to a second place in the 4 x 100m(40.11), and  anchored his team to a win in the 4 x 200m(1:23.37). The 200m was an unexpected surprise, but he knew he could do it.

“20.78 surprised me a lot. I didn’t  feel like I was running that fast,” he says of the win. “ Just getting more experience over a high level of competition helped me from my freshman to sophomore years. I knew I had it in me to do it. I just had to execute it the best way that I could. It did surprise me though.”

His junior year of football he recorded 230 yards in three games. In track he built on his success and ran a seasonal best of 10.33. Once again won the Texas 6A state 200m championship in 20.54, anchored the winning the 4 x 100m(40.01) and anchored the winning 4 x 400m relay team(3:11.69) with a 46.8.

His statistics, highlight videos, and track times have drawn the eyes of  some of the NCAA’s biggest football programs; Oregon, Texas A&M, Michigan State, LSU, Louisville, Tennessee, Missouri, Ole Miss, Michigan, Texas, Nebraska, Arizona and Colorado to name a few. His speed, receiving skills, and elusiveness on the field made him a highly sought after prospect.

The recruiting process was a roller coaster. It went from being overwhelming to not, then to being overwhelming again.

“When it began it was overwhelming, but then once it  got towards the end, it  started to slow down. But then everybody started pitching their opinions and then it got overwhelming again. I just had to evaluate it myself.”

That evaluation led him to LSU where he’ll be able to play football and run track.

“Bennie Brazell[LSU Assistant Track Coach] did the same thing that I am trying to do,” he says of being a two sport athlete at LSU. “  Over there it's just one big family. Everybody treats each other with respect. It’s like a brotherhood.”

Of track he says he is a big fan of Usain Bolt and that led him to lean towards the 200m where he has seen his best success. His 100m start still is something he wants to work on, but the 200m, allows him to build up to his max speed.

“It takes time for me to build up speed and I can also get there quick,” he says “ I like the 200m better because the way I push myself out of the curve onto the straightaway and bring it home.”

His height, 5-10 and weight, 160lbs is comparable to Tyreek Hill of Coffee HS(Douglas, GA) another track and football star, who is currently one of the top receivers and playmakers in the NFL. He’s also about as fast as Hill who sped to 10.14(+1.7) in the 100m and 20.14(+1.8) in the 200m at the Golden South Classic on May 26, 2012.

This upcoming season, he’ll have a change of scenery. He’s switched to Atascocita HS. He felt the environment at Klein Forest was getting a little “rough,” so he made the move. His first game vs Dickinson was a win. He’ll end in December with hopefully a deep playoff run and then he’ll turn his attention to track.

His foray into the 4 x 400m gives a glimpse of his attitude towards competition that we’ll see in both sports.

“I was not expecting myself to run that fast, but I'm a competitor and I don't like to lose.”