Former Gaucho Menelik Watson drafted by the Oakland Raiders

Former Saddleback Gaucho Menelik Watson was taken by the Oakland Raiders in the 2^nd round of the 2013 NFL Draft on Friday in New York.  Watson played for Saddleback in 2011 before transferring to Florida State University and playing for the Seminoles.

Watson was taken No. 42 overall, becoming the 4^th Gaucho drafted into the NFL in the past two years. 

Watson was one of the great success stories on draft day as he didn't start playing football until arriving on campus at Saddleback in August of 2011.  Previous to that, he grew up in Manchester, England, where he played soccer.  Watson eventually took up basketball and played at Marist College in New York, where he played for the Red Foxes in 2010-11 after redshirting in 2009-10.

Watson was inserted into the Gauchos lineup in game three of the 2011 campaign and never relinquished the starting spot.  He started the final eight games of the season, earning scholarship offers from Florida State, Auburn, Rutgers, San Diego State and a number of others.  Watson eventually signed with Florida State, starting at right tackle for the Seminoles in 2012.  He was rated the No. 9 junior college offensive tackle in the nation by JCGridiron.com for the class of 2012 and the No. 19 overall player by Rivals.com.

Watson was very good at the individual drills on the field at the NFL Combine in February, catching the eyes of the scouts.  He ran the 40-yard dash in 5.29 seconds and had a 24.5-inch vertical jump, prompting ESPN analyst (guru) Mike Mayock to rank him the No. 5 overall offensive tackle entering the draft.