Houston Texans defensive end J.J. Watt was honored with a jersey retirement ceremony at Pewaukee High School on Friday night.
Photos by Dwane Lindsey
In his young NFL career, J.J. Watt has already become one of the the top defensive players in the league. On Friday he went back to the place where it all started.
Watt was on hand for a ceremony at his alma mater,
Pewaukee (Wis.), where his high school jersey was retired in front of the home crowd in a first-round playoff game against Elkhorn.
Watt took to Twitter to express his gratitude for the honor.Inspired by Watt's presence, the Pirates advanced and improved to 9-1 with a 20-6 victory.
Watt was a four-sport star at Pewaukee, playing basketball, baseball and track and field in addition to football. Despite being named Woodland Conference Player of the Year and Milawaukee Journal Sentinel Athlete of the Year, Watt did not receive any offers from top Division I programs.
He went on to play tight end at Central Michigan for one season before transferring to Wisconsin, where he became the starting defensive end in 2009. He was named a second team All-American in 2010.
Watt made an immediate impact after being selected 11th overall by the Houston Texans, but had a breakout season in 2012, when he was named to his first Pro Bowl and was selected as the NFL Defensive Player of the Year.
See photos of Watt having his No. 9 jersey (he currently wears No. 99 for the Texans) retired at Pewaukee High School.
