Football: J.J. Watt comes to Narbonne High

Narbonne High football players were doing their stretching exercises on Friday afternoon when J.J. Watt, the 6-foot-5, 290-pound NFL defensive player of the year from the Houston Texans, walked onto the blacktop, sat down and joined in the fun.

“Hey, we got a transfer in,” Coach Manuel Douglas said.

Surprised players didn’t know what to think, but several pulled out their smart phones and started taking photos. One took a selfie before being told to get back in line.

Watt dropped by as part of a Reebok promotion to give a talk to Narbonne players and leave behind new shoes. He drove up in a rented red Ferrari. Douglas greeted him and gave him some background info on the defending City Section Division I champions. Watt has been in Los Angeles all week. He was part of the Gatorade awards on Tuesday, the ESPYs on Wednesday and also worked out at USC

Watt, who was a first-round draft pick out of Wisconsin, stood in the Narbonne weight room and talked to the players about rising up from a small town that had few other players make it to the highest level in college football, let alone the NFL.

“People my whole life have been telling me what I can’t do,” he said.

He told the players that they can succeed by helping each other.

“What you have to do is lift each other up,” he said. “Be a friend that lifts somebody else up. Don’t be a guy who brings somebody down.”

Douglas appreciated Watt’s visit because of his background being a “selfless” player.

“I think it’s great for our program,” Douglas said of Watt’s appearance. “In college, he was asked to change positions. He did it for the betterment of the team. It worked out for him because he’s had great success in the NFL.”

It was the final day of workouts for Narbonne before it takes next week off and begins official football practice on July 27.

Twitter:@LATSondheimer