Love of the Game Has Taken him on an Amazing Journey with Woodruff Football as the Youngest Coach in South Carolina
By: Garrett Mitchell, Staff Writer | garrett@thewoodrufftimes.com
As a kid, Thomas Watson dreamed of being the next superstar quarterback. Life called an audible.
Watson, a senior at Woodruff High School, makes his mark on the football field on Friday nights, but his journey has taken him down a much different path than that of his peers. You will not find Thomas wearing pads and a helmet, but rather holding a clipboard and pen as the youngest high school football coach in the state of South Carolina.
A prodigy when it comes to dissecting the subtleties of the game, when a serious medical diagnosis ended any chance Watson had of playing football beyond adolescence, he knew nothing was going to keep him off the field. Even if his role was different from other kids his age, “It’s always been football,” Watson said. “I’ve always seen football as kind of an escape from reality. To sort of get away from real life for a moment. I can remember times in my early childhood where I would go outside and pretend to be the best college quarterback that’s ever roamed the earth. I would create my own storylines where I’m the center of attention. Where I’m going to be the greatest college football player.”
Thomas may one day wind up being one of the game’s great coaches, instead.
A natural athlete, Watson played football throughout his youth, but by sixth grade, he began having trouble maintaining his stamina and was tiring easily. Something was wrong. Thomas was ultimately diagnosed with a medical condition where his chest cavity pressed against his heart, and the pressure was causing his lasting fatigue when exerting himself.
It was a crushing revelation that meant playing the game he loved was no longer an option. Thomas admits it was hard coming to terms with having the sport he cherished taken away from him.
“The moment I realized it was hindering my ability to play sports and be as active was around sixth grade, and that’s when I would start to feel short of breath whenever I would run and not have the same amount of stamina I used to have,” he explained.
So, Thomas started studying the game, learning every detail he could and how to apply it to any situation, and he quickly developed an astute understanding of defense. As surgery to treat his condition loomed during his junior year, Watson’s knowledge and ability to understand and articulate the nuances of the game caught the eye of Woodruff head baseball coach Wesley Brown. It was Coach Brown who introduced Watson to head football coach Brett Sloan and then-defensive coordinator Taylor Anderson. In the darkest time of his life, it was a light at the end of the tunnel that Thomas so badly needed.
“Whenever it got really real was about a year and a half ago,” stated Watson. “Our head baseball coach, Coach Brown, introduced me to Coach Sloan and Coach Anderson. He told them in front of me, hey, this kid is an absolute guru and you have to have him, He will be a big help.”
Sloan brought Thomas onto his staff as a student coach and made him likely the youngest official member of any coaching staff in the state. Watson, unsurprisingly, is a natural at the job.
The months after his surgery, though, were a dark time for Thomas. He pushed through excruciating pain while also being away from the game he loves and friends and fellow coaches. It was a rough time, he admits.
“During recovery the feeling I had the most was one of loneliness,” said Thomas. “Whenever you go through something like that, and you can’t live the life you used to live because you’re in the house all the time because of the pain, you have to get over that and really just tough it out.”
Watson’s unflappable faith saw him through.
He added, “I was able to get through that first of all thanks to my faith in God. By God, first off, is the reason I was able to get through that. I know God has a plan for everything and that’s definitely why I am able to do what I do know.”
Since 2024, he has worked alongside Woodruff’s other defensive coaches, actively helping scheme and implement each week’s defensive game plan. His hard work and intuition quickly earned the praise and respect of both the coaches and players, and Watson realized he had found what he was born to do. Now fully healed and healthy, he excels at what he does.
“I realized this could be a very real thing,” Thomas said. “Whenever I realized that, I told myself I was going to make (coaching) my job because I don’t see myself being a banker or a hedge fund manager. That stuff’s boring. Football is fun. Football is where I want to be able to clock in.”
He continued, “I believe (God) has placed me in this moment because I’m probably the youngest coach in South Carolina. That’s by God, really.”
Watson has the complete respect of his classmates, too. Instead of playing with them on the field, he relays signals and diagnoses opposing offenses from the sideline on Friday nights. When he speaks, the players listen.
His reputation is also spreading far outside of Woodruff now. Watson has been accepted as a student at Liberty University, where multiple Woodruff coaches have connections, and there are plans in the works for Thomas to immediately join the coaching staff for the Flames when he arrives. It would be the next significant step in making his biggest goals and dreams a reality.
“Coach (Nick) Lilly, Coach Anderson, even Coach (Chris) Lewis, and (Coach) CeJay Thomas, their connections with Liberty, Coach (Willy) Corn, and all those guys…being able to open that door for me is not something I thought was possible two years ago. It’s crazy how quickly things have changed. It’s a blessing to be able to have these guys around me. It’s why I am so faith-driven. No way this all happens without God. It’s amazing, these doors that have opened up.”
If he can earn a spot on staff at Liberty, it is Thomas’ goal to move up the collegiate ranks and one day become either a defensive coordinator or head coach in the most prestigious college football conference in the country. Driven by faith, desire, and hard work, Watson has every confidence that he can make it happen.
“The SEC. That’s where I want to go,” he said. “I feel like if you coach in college, the SEC is always the end goal. So, to be a head football coach in the SEC, it doesn’t even have to be Alabama’s, or the LSU’s, or Georgia’s, just somewhere. College football is such a huge community, so to go somewhere a fan base just rallies around me and the team would be super special.”
But for now, Watson is focused on his senior year of high school and helping the Wolverines in their quest for a long-elusive 11th state championship. Thomas knows what it is like to pick yourself up when the going gets tough, and that is the ultimate message he can pass along to others. The best things come to those willing to work hard and have faith. Success and respect are earned, not given.
“You have to engulf yourself in the game,” Watson says. “Football, like I said, is something that I have always really looked forward to. Even growing up in the Woodruff community, and knowing how special football is to everyone around here. It has always been a part of me.”
And Woodruff High School’s young coach is going to be a part of shaping players’ hearts for the game for a very long time. That is what he does best.
Author: gmitchell85
