A fun J.J. Watt story out of ESPN.com’s Sarah Barshop on Tuesday.
The Houston Texans’ great is the commencement speaker at Wisconsin, where he starred in college on the football field. Everything was going according to plan … until the defensive lineman was asked for a copy of his speech.
“I said, ‘What do you mean?'” Watt said. “‘I don’t write speeches. I’m just going to go up there and talk.’
“That was my full plan. I did not know you that had to write it all out. I’m dead serious. I didn’t know. He was like, ‘They have a teleprompter for you. What do you want on it?’
“I said, ‘Nothing. Just give me a black screen and tell me when to stop talking.’ “
As great as Watt was as a Badger, he apparently wasn’t as successful in the classroom, admitting he has not graduated.
“I get to go back to Wisconsin [and] Camp Randall [Stadium],” Watt said. “I never graduated, so I get to see what graduation looks like. It’s an honor. It’s such a true honor.
Watt was realistic about what the Class of 2019 actually wants to do. And it isn’t listen to a long-winded speech.
“I have some things I want to get across,” he told ESPN. “But let’s be honest: They just want to go drink beer afterwards. They’re excited. I know how commencements go. They just want the person to give a cool message for about five minutes, and then get off the stage.”
