Todd Watkins is the son of Don and Ramona Watkins. His brother Travis is an offensive lineman for the USC Trojans. His great uncle Tom Watkins is a member of the Iowa State hall of fame who went on to play in the NFL for the Browns, Lions, Steelers, and Rams in the 60’s. Todd went to Helix High School where he became just the second student in the past 25 years to letter in four sports (football, soccer, volleyball, and track). He led the school’s track relay team to a California State Championship and was an all-county football player in each of his final two seasons at Helix. Watkins played both receiver and kicker and was considered one of the best receiving prospects in the nation following his senior year. He received scholarship offers from Hawaii, Kansas State, and Oregon State before opting to go to Norfolk State. He redshirted his freshman season at Norfolk State then sat out the 2002 season as a transfer at Grossmont Junior College. He led Grossmont to a 10-0 regular season record and a 13-1 overall record in 2003, catching 40 passes for 911 yards and 8 touchdowns. He also played kicker at Grossmont, converting 50 of 51 extra point attempts and 12 of 15 field goal attempts, including a long of 52 yards. He finished the season with 134 total points (48 as a receiver and 86 as a kicker) and was named the 2003 region II offensive player of the year. Watkins transferred to BYU where he started every game and made an instant impact, becoming one of the best receivers in the Mountain West Conference in just his first year. He set the conference single game receiving record with 211 yards against Boise State as well as the conference single-season record with 94.7 receiving yards per game. He finished the season with 52 receptions for 1042 yards and 6 touchdowns, averaging an impressive 20 yards per catch on his way to first team all-conference honors.

Todd Watkins is a tall, slender receiver with excellent speed. He has reportedly been clocked as fast as 4.28 in the 40 and is one of the most dangerous deep threats in college football. He runs crisp routes and has very good hands. He does a good job of adjusting to the ball while it is in the air and catches the ball with his hands at its highest point. He will make the tough catch in traffic and is very skilled at getting yards after the catch once the ball is in his hands. He lacks a great deal of experience at the division I level, having only played the past two seasons for BYU after transferring from Grossmont Junior College. He isn’t a very physical receiver—He needs to add bulk and increase his strength to use his body rather than just his speed to gain separation. He struggles getting off the line off scrimmage against the jam and needs to improve his blocking to become a more complete receiver at the professional level. Although he has some areas of his game he needs to work on, Todd Watkins’ big play ability cannot be ignored. He should be among the top receivers selected in the 2006 NFL draft.