Cole Watson returned to Newberry College as head football coach Todd Knight named the former Wolves’ standout as the program’s new offensive coordinator January 13, 2025.
“It’s great to have one of your own back,” said Knight. “I’ve seen Cole grow as a player here at Newberry and the Canadian Football League and as a coach at the NCAA Division 1 level and Tusculum. His knowledge of the passing game with our running game will be a great combination. I’m just really happy that he is coming home.”
Watson returns to Newberry after serving as Tusculum’s offensive passing game coordinator, as recruiting coordinator and wide receiver’s coach.
I am extremely grateful for this opportunity,” said Watson. “Newberry will always be a special place to me and my family. I am eager as ever to get started. Newberry football has a rich history of successful players and coaches. I want to do everything I can to continue to add to that success.”
It is both a homecoming and a family reunion for Cole as he returns to his alma mater and joins his father, Newberry College Hall of Famer Drew Watson, on the coaching staff.
Watson was an incredibly versatile player for Newberry, highlighted by his exploits as a receiver in the Wolves offense from 2013-16.
He finished his career with 115 receptions for 1,412 yards and 10 touchdowns. During his senior season in 2016 he caught a career-best 51 passes for 697 yards and six touchdowns earning him first team All-South Atlantic Conference and All- Eastern College Athletic Conference recognition.
During his time as a student-athlete the Wolves posted an overall record of 31-16 including a 19-9 mark in conference play and three appearances in the NCAA playoffs. He helped lead the Wolves to the 2016 South Atlantic Conference title with a perfect 7-0 record.
Displaying that versatility during his senior season, he filled in as a team’s punter, averaging 44.7 yards on 11 punts, with three over 50 yards and four inside the 20. He earned SAC Special Teams Player of the Week honors after averaging 49.5-yards per punt at Brevard, the first four punts of his career, while holding on all five PAT attempts and returning three punts for 25 yards. He also had three catches for 32 yards during the game.
His longest punt return of the season was for 37 yards against Tuskegee in the first round of the NCAA playoffs.
As a junior in 2015 he led the SAC in punt return average at 10.9 yards per return while also grabbing 32 passes for 428 yards and three scores.
He again used that versatility to help the Wolves, tossing a 63-yard touchdown pass on a trick play on the first play from scrimmage in the first round NCAA playoff game at North Alabama.
Watson finished with 1,813 all-purpose yards and played in 47 games in his career.
After his playing career, Watson served on the Wolves coaching staff from 2018-2021 serving as an offensive assistant (2018-19), quarterbacks coach (2020) and running backs coach (2021)while also serving as recruiting coordinator.
Watson also served on two FBS football staffs at Georgia State (2022) and Coastal Carolina University (2023).
He served worked with the Georgia State defensive backs and then served as an offensive graduate assistant during the 2023 campaign at Coastal Carolina.
The Chanticleers posted a 8-5 record and defeated San Jose State 24-14 in the EasyPost Hawai'i Bowl.
Watson was a signee of the Toronto Argonauts and appeared in preseason games for the Canadian Football League franchise in 2017 and 2018.
Cole and his wife Alexa are both graduates of Newberry College.
