Former NFL Tight End Asa Watson Making New Career On NASCAR Pit Crew

Former North Carolina State tight end Asa Watson had hoped to follow in his big brother's footsteps and become the next great NFL tight end. he had a pretty good mentor to help him on the journey in his brother, New Orleans Saints tight end Ben Watson (who made his name with the New England Patriots and also played for the Cleveland Browns).

Things didn't quite work out for Asa in the NFL though, but it appears that he has already moved on and begun a second career as part of a NASCAR pit crew.

via Twitter

He hasn't been at his new job with Roush Fenway Racing's developmental team for long, but he is already picking things up pretty well and doing a great job as a jack man.

So why NASCAR? How does an NFL tight end become part of a pit crew? Well--because his athleticism makes him an asset. Back in the day the guys on a pit crew were not known for being stellar athletes, but that is no longer the case. With competition being as intense as it is now having athletes on your pit crew can be a real benefit.

"Before, you didn't have to be an athlete; you just had to have car knowledge," Elliot Sadler said. "Now, it's so much different. It's so competitive on pit row. We'll teach you how to change tires, jack, gas, do all the things we want you to do. But you have to be an athlete."

Watson works for Sadler in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.

While he may have gone in to the job with little to no knowledge about what to do that was not considered a problem. The skill set needed to do his job on a pit crew can be taught, but having the athleticism to do the job is a lot harder to come by.

As it turns out, Watson is not the only one. An informal survey by ESPN of NASCAR teams found eight guys with some kind of NFL experience. With a whole lot of really athletic guys going to be out of work come late August after teams make their final cuts it would not be surprising if more teams tap the talent pool.

[ESPN]

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