On Saturday, Dec. 3, at the SEC Championship game, a UAB Blazer with a football will compete with a strong arm, fast reflexes and nerves of steel for a much-coveted prize.
UAB freshman Katelyn Watson, 18, won’t be playing for the championship trophy on the Georgia Dome field. Instead, she’ll be playing for something far more exciting, to her: a
$100,000 Dr. Pepper Tuition Giveaway scholarship that will allow her to pay for college so she can become a nurse just like her mom.
Watson, 18, of Enterprise, Ala., has applied for many scholarships. She was shopping at the mall when she got a call from Dr. Pepper. The caller told her that
her video entry (also below) had been selected, she had won a $2,500 scholarship, and she was headed to the game to compete for the biggie. She jumped up and down in excitement. Then, she says, she grew puzzled as she realized the task set before her.
To win the big scholarship prize, she’ll need to beat four other opponents and throw the most footballs through a 2-feet diameter hole into a can five feet tall from a distance of 15 feet. The best two players of the five will get to compete on the field for the $100,000 scholarship. They’ll get 30 tries in 30 seconds.
One problem: she had never touched a football.
Watson took some advice from Dr. Pepper and began practicing chest passes, “because it’s easier for a girl to get her hands around the football,” she says. Her father and brother set up a target for her, and she had a practice session with Turner West, student assistant coach with UAB Athletics.
Wearing a cherry-red Dr. Pepper athletic shirt, Watson performed like a seasoned pro Tuesday at UAB’s Campus Recreation Center. The only football field she’s been on is her high school field, which is a little smaller than the Georgia Dome. She’ll compete in front of 80,000 fans and national TV cameras, and although she says she’s a little nervous, she won’t let that affect her performance.
“You’ll psych yourself out,” she says wisely.
So tune in Saturday. It just may be a UAB Blazer that wins big at the Georgia Dome.
UAB freshman Katelyn Watson, 18, won’t be playing for the championship trophy on the Georgia Dome field. Instead, she’ll be playing for something far more exciting, to her: a $100,000 Dr. Pepper Tuition Giveaway scholarship that will allow her to pay for college so she can become a nurse just like her mom.
Watson, 18, of Enterprise, Ala., has applied for many scholarships. She was shopping at the mall when she got a call from Dr. Pepper. The caller told her that her video entry (also below) had been selected, she had won a $2,500 scholarship, and she was headed to the game to compete for the biggie. She jumped up and down in excitement. Then, she says, she grew puzzled as she realized the task set before her.
To win the big scholarship prize, she’ll need to beat four other opponents and throw the most footballs through a 2-feet diameter hole into a can five feet tall from a distance of 15 feet. The best two players of the five will get to compete on the field for the $100,000 scholarship. They’ll get 30 tries in 30 seconds.
One problem: she had never touched a football.
Watson took some advice from Dr. Pepper and began practicing chest passes, “because it’s easier for a girl to get her hands around the football,” she says. Her father and brother set up a target for her, and she had a practice session with Turner West, student assistant coach with UAB Athletics.
Wearing a cherry-red Dr. Pepper athletic shirt, Watson performed like a seasoned pro Tuesday at UAB’s Campus Recreation Center. The only football field she’s been on is her high school field, which is a little smaller than the Georgia Dome. She’ll compete in front of 80,000 fans and national TV cameras, and although she says she’s a little nervous, she won’t let that affect her performance.
“You’ll psych yourself out,” she says wisely.
So tune in Saturday. It just may be a UAB Blazer that wins big at the Georgia Dome.