On Saturday, Sammy and Jaylen Watkins woke up with two games on each of their minds: their own and each other’s.

Around noon, Sammy started to prepare for his Clemson Tigers’ 3:30 homecoming game against Wake Forest. But he didn’t leave the locker room before texting his half-brother Jaylen, who plays cornerback for Florida.

“Play today like it’s your last game.”

It’s same text he sends him every week of the college football season. Jaylen responded with a phrase Sammy has gotten used to in his three-year collegiate career.

“Play hard and be safe.”

With Florida’s game at Kentucky at 7 p.m., Jaylen had a rare opportunity to watch Sammy play. He stayed in the locker room at Commonwealth Stadium in Lexington, Ky. as long as he could and still only caught the first quarter.

That was enough for him to see Sammy haul in a 64-yard touchdown pass 46 seconds into the contest, sending him out to warm-ups with a smile on his face.

Now both of their days are in full swing as they act out childhood dreams rooted in their brotherly bond.

Despite growing up in different houses and attending different schools, Sammy and Jaylen’s kinship has made them best friends. Each having a hand in the other’s rise to Division I football, their separation has only accentuated their connection as they continually push each other as athletes and as men.

“We’re competing all the time, and we also both know what it’s like to compete at such a high level,” Sammy said. “We can talk about anything.”

After burning Wake Forest’s defense for the game’s first score, Sammy’s celebration is oddly subdued. Once a flashy freshman tearing up the Atlantic Coast Conference, he was thrust into the national spotlight for the wrong reasons as a sophomore and has become a humbler player since.

On May 4, 2012, an 18-year old Sammy was arrested on drug-related charges after a Clemson police officer smelled marijuana in his car. After being released from the Clemson City Jail on bail, he received attention from university officials, coaches and teammates.

But Sammy needed to talk to someone who really understood him. He needed Jaylen.

“When I got in trouble I went straight home to him,” Sammy said. “He helped me realize what type of person I am and what type of person I was for Clemson and the community.”

Jaylen didn’t add any silver lining to the situation. He told Sammy he made a mistake and that the only way to move past it was to accept responsibility.

For hours they talked in their grandparents’ house in their hometown of Fort Myers, Fla., and for once football didn’t come up. Instead they discussed the importance of positively representing yourself, your team and your school.

“He learned from it and became a better person,” Jaylen said. “He’s definitely a better man after that experience because he’s seen what can happen.”

Sammy would catch five more passes and finish the game with 113 yards. By the time Clemson was putting the finishing touches on its 56-7 win over the Demon Deacons, Jaylen and the Gators were just getting underway against the Wildcats.

With Javess Blue and Ryan Timmons posing threats as Kentucky’s wideouts, Jaylen wasn’t fazed. He has spent hours practicing against a premier player who has prepared him for any task.

“When I’m home training I get to cover the best receiver in the nation,” Jaylen said. “Every time I play with (Sammy) I take lessons and think I can learn from this ‘cause I’ll never see any player like him.”

Last summer the two kicked their workout regimen into high gear. Long days at Buckingham Community Park — the home of the Riverdale Wildcats, Sammy’s former Pop Warner team in Fort Myers — consisted of ball drills, 40-yard sprints and countless one-on-one match ups.

When Sammy beat Jaylen on a route, they stopped so he could explain how he was able to do so. When Jaylen got the better of Sammy, they did the same — an outdoor classroom under the beating Florida sun.

Anthony Dixon, Sammy’s track coach at South Fort Myers High School, explained why Sammy is an all-around nightmare that makes his competitors better.

“He’s very fast, that’s obvious, but what people don’t recognize is how strong and physical he also is,” Dixon said. “He’s the kind of athlete that just pushes everyone around him all the time.”

In a 24-7 Florida win, Jaylen finished with 10 total tackles and the Gators’ secondary held Kentucky to 125 yards in the air and 7.4 yards per reception.

After starting the day with a text, the half-brothers celebrated their two wins with a phone call.

Jaylen told Sammy that he made a strong double move and did a good job using his size on the touchdown play.

Sammy told Jaylen he did a good job in coverage but could still be more physical.

Then the conversation ended the same way that it always does, with one brother repeating the other before hanging up.

“You played great, love you.”

Published on October 4, 2013 at 3:13 am

Contact Jesse: [email protected] | @dougherty_jesse