Football
- Title:
- Secondary
Mark Watson, an assistant coach at Drake the past 2 seasons, joined the Trojan coaching staff in August of 2012 as a graduate assistant working with the secondary.
Watson, 25, coached the cornerbacks at Drake in 2010 and 2011. Drake, a member of the NCAA FCS, led the Pioneer Football League in pass interceptions both seasons. In 2011, the Bulldogs won the PFL championship while finishing seventh in the NCAA FCS in scoring defense and 10th in total defense.
He spent 3 years (2008-10) as a position coordinator at the Elite Football Academy in St. Louis, Mo.
He played cornerback and safety in college, beginning his career at NCAA Division II Missouri Southern State in 2006 (getting 14 tackles, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery, 3 deflections and 6 kickoff returns) and 2007 (with 4 tackles) before transferring to the NAIA's McPherson College, where he started in 2008 and 2009 (he was a captain as a senior).
He starred in football (he was an all-league quarterback), basketball, baseball (he was on the 2003 Missouri Class 4A state titlist) and track (he was ran on the school record-setting 400-meter relay team) at Francis Howell High in St. Charles, Mo.
He earned his bachelor's degree in business management and marketing at McPherson in 2010. He is working on a master's degree in communication management at USC.
Born March 6, 1987, he is single.
