When a football player transfers nowadays in the portal, there are a select handful that fans of the school that the player is leaving will still root for. It is safe to say that a player who has left Virginia Tech recently, whom fans are glad to see having success at his next stop, is former quarterback Pop Watson.
After Brent Pry was fired last September, there was a lot of roster turnover, as is usual when a coach is fired, and, to nobody's surprise, when James Franklin was hired last November, Watson ended up hitting the Transfer Portal in January. It didn't take him long to find a new home, returning to Massachusetts to play for UMass.
It was a bit of a surprise landing spot for the former Massachusetts Gatorade Player of the Year, who played for his father at Springfield Central High School. However, the fit has been perfect, and on Wednesday night, the former Hokies signal caller led the Minutemen to one of the program's bigger wins in a long, long time.
Pop Watson leads UMass to overtime win over Ball State
After missing some games recently with an injury and clearly not 100% against the Cardinals, Watson was 17-for-25 through the air for 302 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 80 yards on eight carries and two touchdowns as UMass survived a fourth-quarter Ball State rally for a 31-30 overtime win.
The win improved UMass to 5-4, however, to get to bowl eligibility, the Minutemen need to win seven games because two of their wins earlier this season were against FCS schools. Nevertheless, the win gave UMass its fifth win in a season for the first time since 2011 and its first FBS home victory since a win over UConn in 2021. Not too bad for a program that went 0-12 last season.
If there is one fanbase that is not surprised, or at least shouldn't be, by Watson's performance, it's the Hokies fans. There were multiple games during his tenure in Blacksburg where Watson won some big games for Virginia Tech, including in 2024 when he led Tech to a rout of Virginia at home Thanksgiving Weekend to become bowl-eligible and save face for what was a disappointing 6-6 season after beginning the season with much bigger expectations.
As for UMass and Watson, he gave the Minutemen a 21-17 lead in the third quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run, then after Ball State forced overtime with a 2-yard touchdown run by QB Keldric Luster with 25 seconds left.
In overtime, the Cardinals scored on their first possession, but they missed the extra point, opening the door for UMass to win the game with a touchdown and an extra point. After an incomplete pass on first down, Watson scrambled for 12 yards to the Cardinals' 13. On the next play, he called his own number and scampered 13 yards to the end zone to tie the game. Derek Morris booted the extra point through the uprights to seal the win.
Again, if there is one player that Hokies fans are glad to see has a lot of success at his next stop, it's Watson. Hopefully, he can collect two more wins in their final three games against Toledo, Akron, and Bowling Green. If he can, his bold claim from April will become reality for the Minutemen.
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