The words “I have decided to attend. . .” echo in the ears of ESPNU coordinating producer Pete Watters leading up to Wednesday’s National Signing Day. Top high school football recruits announcing their commitments signifies the annual kickoff to the next college football season. Watters has produced all-day coverage of these announcements for ESPNU since 2006. As a result, Watters has worked with more than 60 recruits who have made their announcement live on ESPNU.
With 13 more top recruits set to announce their college decision on the 11-hour ESPNU National Signing Day Special (8 a.m. ET ESPNU, WatchESPN), Front Row caught up with Watters to chat about past player announcements and what he is looking forward to this week.
How big of an event is this for ESPNU?
It is the biggest studio effort we put forth each year, mainly because we have to generate the entire 11-hour production. Our preparation starts in July with a team working on research and preparation. That continues until January when the workload intensifies. Then, on National Signing Day, there are upwards of 150 people working in tandem to pull the show off.
How does a player ultimately decide to make his college announcement on ESPNU?
In most cases, our team has developed a working relationship with the athlete and his family over the course of a few years. The familiarity with each other helps when working out the logistics and, most importantly, making the day a success for the recruit.
What are the most memorable player announcements you’ve been a part of?
In 2011, Cyrus Kouandjio announced he was going to Auburn. However, our reporters soon discovered that Auburn didn’t receive his letter of intent, which makes the decision official. As the day went on, we learned that he ended up switching to rival Alabama, where his brother played. He went on to become all-SEC.
What are you looking forward to on Wednesday?
We have had teammates announce before, but never had four teammates together. John Curtis Christian High School in River Ridge, La. has four recruits [whose announcements] we will carry and there is a chance none will head to LSU. That would be crazy.
Editor’s note: Tuesday, Front Row looks back at some of the top college and NFL players who announced their college destination live on ESPNU.
