ISU's Rhoads and starting CB Watson have history

AMES - Iowa State football coach Paul Rhoads and soon-to-be first-time, full-time starting right cornerback Jansen Watson go way back.

How far?

“I started recruiting him when I was (defensive coordinator) at Auburn,” said Rhoads, whose Cyclones play athletic Tulsa in Saturday's 2:30 p.m. season opener at Jack Trick Stadium. “Out of all the guys that we've brought in I've actually known him the longest, so I'm really happy for him to have this opportunity to be a starting corner.”

What took Watson - a lighting-quick 5-9, 185-pound junior from Kissimmee, Fla. - so long to dent the starting lineup since Rhoads took over the Cyclones' program in 2009?

Two words: Leonard. Johnson.

ISU's former four-year shutdown corner remains in NFL camp with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but left an indelible mentor's mark on Watson.

“I've been working my butt off for three years, playing behind Leonard,” said Watson, who received his first of two recruiting pitches from Rhoads as a junior at Osceola High School. “As you sit back, you get all the information, all the techniques right, even the film study. So once you go out there, you're ready to play. I might have some butterflies, but as soon as that first kickoff hit, we're right on.”

He'll need to be.

The Golden Hurricane scored 31 or more points in seven of their eight wins last season, striking the end zone with big plays via the air and the ground.

“We're going to have our hands full,” ISU defensive coordinator Wally Burnham said.

Watson, flanked by veteran Jeremy Reeves at left corner, appear ready for Tulsa's multiple-choice test.

“He's not overly big, but he can make up for some things by being fast and playing with good technique and things like that,” Burnham said of Watson, who sustained a right shoulder injury in the second scrimmage of fall camp and has faced little contact since. “I think he's had a good fall. He's made some plays on deep balls out there. He's probably the fastest corner we've had, I would think, since we've been here.”

He is.

“He can fly,” Rhoads said. “He's faster than Leonard and because of that, potentially, he has more upside than Leonard. Leonard was a very good cornerback. Jansen's becoming a good cornerback, but because of that speed he's got a chance to be better.”

Watson initially worried his first full-time opportunity to showcase his improvement would be delayed by the shoulder trouble.

“When you first get injured you question yourself,” he said. “But as time goes by and you keep getting rehab, you see the progression. ... It shocked me how fast I came back because when it happened I thought I'd be sitting out a while.”

He was not surprised Rhoads stuck with him on the recruiting trail - from the SEC to the Big 12.

“He had a lot of trust in me,” Watson said. “It just felt good that he was the type of coach that stayed with me throughout the whole process, other than some coaches who fall off and look for other dudes. He stayed on track with me and I appreciate it.”