Not long ago, Sammy Watkins was catching clutch fourth-quarter passes to lock up Super Bowl LIV for the Kansas City Chiefs. Now, one of the NFL’s most dynamic playmakers is trading the bright stadium lights for the high school sidelines to shape the next generation of talent.

“The Ocoee Knights Football Family is proud to welcome Coach Sammy Watkins as our new Wide Receivers Coach!” The Ocoee Knights IG page announced on June 24. “A dynamic playmaker and proven competitor at every level of football, Coach Watkins brings a wealth of knowledge, experience, and passion for developing young athletes both on and off the field. His commitment to excellence and understanding of the wide receiver position will be an incredible asset to our program as we continue building a championship culture.”

Sammy Watkins is joining an Ocoee High School team that is looking to improve under the leadership of Sheddrick ‘Buck’ Gurley. The Knights finished the 2025 season with a 5-6 record and reached the FHSAA Class 7A playoffs before losing in the regional quarterfinals. Now, with Watkins as their wide receivers coach, the team hopes his experience as a former NFL and Clemson star will help its players improve and make the team stronger.

Long before he was making plays on Sundays, Watkins put together a brilliant career at Clemson, along with a historic 2013 season where he set the school’s single-season record with 101 catches for 1,464 yards and 12 touchdowns, a record that is still standing. Over three dominant seasons with the Tigers, he caught 240 passes, 3,391 receiving yards, and 27 touchdowns, cementing his legacy as one of the greatest wide receivers in the program’s history. 

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The collegiate brilliance made him the fourth overall pick in the 2014 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills. Watkins spent three seasons with the Bills (2014-16), showcasing the talent of a true superstar. Over his 37 games with the royal blue and white, he hauled in 153 catches for 2,459 yards and 17 touchdowns. Just as he was reaching his peak after two breakout seasons, Watkins was hit by every athlete’s worst nightmare: injuries.

Because of that, he could only play 8 games, managing just 28 catches for 430 yards. Frustrated by his injuries and by a shift to a new regime under head coach Sean McDermott, the Bills traded Watkins to the Los Angeles Rams in August 2017. Watkins was in Woodland Hills for just one season, and even though his overall stat line during that year was underwhelming, he was a highly effective red-zone threat and a crucial field-stretcher.

That’s why the Kansas City Chiefs didn’t think twice before investing a staggering $48 million in him for three years (2018-2020). That investment paid off in full during the 2019-2020 postseason run. In Super Bowl LIV against the San Francisco 49ers, with the Chiefs trailing in the fourth quarter, Watkins ran past Richard Sherman for a spectacular 38-yard catch. It was a game-changing play that set up the go-ahead touchdown. 

But in the NFL, glory can be fleeting. Following his championship peak, the familiar plague of injuries returned, and by the end of the 2020 season, Watkins and the Chiefs parted ways. Brief stints with the Ravens and Packers followed, but the explosive playmaker who once terrified defensive coordinators seemed to vanish from the league’s radar after 2022. During his nine NFL seasons, he caught 364 passes for 5,179 yards and 34 touchdowns.

That brings his story full circle to the Ocoee Knights. Watkins isn’t just bringing a Super Bowl ring to these high school kids; he’s bringing the hard-earned wisdom of a player who has lived through the absolute highest highs and the most frustrating, injury-riddled lows. 

It’s the exact kind of veteran leadership his former college coach, Dabo Swinney, always knew he had in him. 

Before Watkins was inducted into Clemson’s Hall of Fame in 2024, head coach Dabo Swinney said they had talked about the idea of Watkins returning to the school as a coach in the future.

“We’re trying to get him to; we’ve talked about timing and all of that,” Swinney said. “His kids are athletes. He’s got some competitive athletes, and he’s got a lot going on there. But he does want to finish school at some point. So I’ve been trying to get him to come back and help us out and finish up. So we’ll see.”

Sammy Watkins’ injury setbacks

Injuries made Sammy Watkins’ life tough. He started dealing with injuries even before he entered the NFL. While playing for Clemson in 2011, he injured his shoulder against Wake Forest and missed one game. In 2012, he hurt his right ankle during the Chick-fil-A Bowl against LSU and had to leave the game after getting injured on only the second play.

During his rookie season with the Bills, he bruised his ribs in a preseason game and also suffered a minor groin injury, but did not miss any games. In 2015, he suffered a glute strain during preseason and later a calf strain that caused him to miss two regular-season games.

Watkins’ biggest setback came in 2016 when he fractured his left foot during an offseason workout and needed surgery. The injury affected him for a long time. After joining the Kansas City Chiefs, his injury problems continued.

In 2018, he injured his right foot, missed games, returned briefly, then hurt the same foot again and missed the rest of the regular season before returning for the playoffs. In 2019, he suffered a shoulder injury and later injured his hamstring during practice, forcing him to miss another game.

Despite all of it, Watkins never gave up, and in his new journey, he will teach the same to all the high school kids who dream of being big one day.