He attended Lake Gibson High School in Lakeland, Florida as a junior and senior, playing football only two years and earning Class 4A all-state, all-county and all-conference first-team accolades as a senior.

Watkins helped the Gators win two National Championships (2006 and 2008) as member of the offensive line that paved the way for Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Tim Tebow.

In his senior season, Watkins was named honorable mention All-Southeastern Conference by the Associated Press, as he produced 78 knockdowns to go with 12 touchdown-resulting blocks.

The Gators went on to capture the national title behind an offense that averaged 445.07 yards and 43.64 points per game[2] Watkins was signed on April 28, 2009 by the Houston Texans after going undrafted in the 2009 NFL draft.

After playing in the UFL, Watkins was signed to the Buffalo Bills' practice squad on November 24.