Tamarion Watkins fuels Northwestern’s hunger to win 2nd straight football title
Tamarion Watkins is motivated to uphold the standard of Northwestern High School football.
The Trojans’ star safety entering his senior year gazed at the decorated walls of head coach Page Wofford’s office at Northwestern. Framed NFL jerseys are among the memorabilia that also includes an updated banner now showcasing the six-time South Carolina state champions.
Watkins, the Palmetto State’s fifth-ranked player in his class, has even bigger goals in his mind.
Cordarrelle Patterson and Mason Rudolph are just two of the big-name local legends who have made their mark in the pros. But for Watkins, a highly-touted Division I recruit, everything right now is about getting his Trojans teammates ready to make a run at repeating their state title.
“It’s just getting that same hunger,” Watkins said. “Even when we were at the top, it’s just never enough. You don’t know what the other guys are doing across the state and city, and you just want to outwork everybody.”
‘Everything comes full circle’
Family is what brings the Rock Hill community together.
Watkins’ older brothers played college football at Marshall and Limestone, respectively, after winning state championships in high school. Seeing their teams reach the top before both of them reached college is what mattered to Watkins, who’s always sought to be better than both of them.
It’s mainly been football for Watkins, who’s also dabbled a little in basketball. He grew up playing and watching the sport in the town known as “Football City, USA,” and has long understood that his hometown is known for its high school football dominance.
“It still shocks me sometimes,” Watkins said. “Some of the kids around town think of me as such a, like, high-status person, and it’s like, ‘I remember when I was that kid.’ It’s just crazy how everything comes full circle. I’m just blessed we had the opportunity to give back to the city with that ring.”
‘We’ve gotta make some history’
Watkins recently cut his recruiting list down to five potential schools.
South Carolina, Alabama, Georgia, Miami and Texas A&M are all in play for the 6-foot-4 athlete from Rock Hill. He wants to study business, finance or chemical engineering — but he’s got unfinished business with his high school teammates first. While Northwestern did win its sixth state championship, as the numbers are painted on a banner in Wofford’s office indicate, none of those titles came in back-to-back seasons.
The Trojans may be on the heels of a 14-0 campaign, but the players are hungry for more. Watkins matches up against Kameron Vance in practice, and the Trojans’ athletic wide receiver recently sent him a message telling him how motivated he is for the upcoming season also. As cool as it was to knock off Irmo on a walk-off field goal last November in Orangeburg?
They remember their one-point loss to Greenville more.
“Obviously, everybody knows about it, and which schools I may end up at,” Watkins said. “But right now, I’m really just not as focused on that, as compared to getting prepared for this season coming up. Because I do want to repeat. If you didn’t know, if you look at all those numbers, there’s never really been a repeat in this era.
“We’ve gotta make some history this year.”
This story was originally published April 21, 2025 at 6:00 AM.
