DURHAM – Duke head football coach Manny Diaz announced Thursday that Justin Watts will join the Blue Devil gridiron program and serve as an assistant coach. Watts will coach Duke’s tight ends.
With over 20 years of coaching experience and 170-plus wins, Watts has coached in 14 bowl games and helped his teams earn four conference titles. Watt’s bowl games include the 2001 Humanitarian, 2002 Tangerine, 2006 Motor City, 2009 New Orleans, 2010 GoDaddy.com, 2013 Armed Forces, 2015 Camellia, 2016 Camellia, 2017 Dollar General, 2018 New Orleans, 2019 New Orleans, 2020 Myrtle Beach, 2021 Boca Raton, and the 2023 Cure.
Watts comes to Durham after a nine-year stint (2015-23) at Appalachian State University serving in a variety of different roles with his most recent being the pass game coordinator, assistant head coach and tight ends coach for two seasons (2022-23). Watts also served as the assistant head coach, recruiting coordinator and tight ends coach (2021), recruiting coordinator and tight ends coach (2019-20), recruiting coordinator and wide receivers coach (2018), and wide receivers coach (2015-17) while with the Mountaineers.
During his time in Boone, Watts helped App State to an 88-30 (.746) overall ledger, eight bowl games, and four Sun Belt Conference titles. Individually, he mentored six Mountaineers to All-Sun Belt Conference honors, including three-time recipient in tight end Henry Pearson. The Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J., native totaled 59 receptions for 897 yards and 11 touchdowns throughout his career before signing with the NFL’s Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in May 2023.
Last season, Watts helped the Mountaineers to a 9-5 overall record, a Sun Belt East Division title, an appearance in the conference championship game and a 13-9 victory over Miami (Ohio) in the Avocados from Mexico Cure Bowl. Additionally, his tight ends unit recorded 53 receptions for 523 yards (9.87) with eight touchdowns. Under Watt’s guidance, Eli Wilson tied for second among Sun Belt tight ends with 29 receptions and five touchdown catches during the regular season, while also ranking third in receiving yards with 306.
In 2022, Watts mentored a tight ends group, led by Pearson, that combined for 45 receptions, 504 yards and nine touchdowns. Pearson concluded his career tied for the Sun Belt lead among tight…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Duke University…