PEWAUKEE, Wis. — John and Connie Watt were attending a Super Bowl party several years ago when they found themselves in the company of NFL royalty.
Across the room stood Peyton and Eli Manning, descendants of Archie, dressed in their finery and cutting dashing figures. The Manning brothers oozed class as they extended hands and greetings to guests at a Gatorade-sponsored event.
John Watt studied the mannerisms of the Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks while huddled alongside his wife and middle son, Derek. They were awaiting the arrival of their two other boys, J.J. and T.J.
“I’m there thinking to myself, ‘Wow, the Mannings are so business-like,’ ” John recalled. “Then, our kids come in and the first thing J.J. does is slug T.J. in the shoulder. Then, T.J. puts J.J. in a headlock.”
John tells the story sitting in the living room of their new home about 20 miles west of Milwaukee. The Watts are empty nesters, which means none of Connie’s valuables need Bubble-wrapped. Their old house, just three blocks from Pewaukee High School, might as well have been carpeted with wrestling mats and cordoned off with ring ropes.
How does one family from rural Wisconsin send three kids to the NFL?
Good genes, strong values, bottomless milkshakes and non-stop competition.
The Watt boys weren't larger than life, but they were larger than Connie’s birth canal. J.J. weighed nine pounds, 14 ounces. Derek was 9 pounds, 7 ounces. Doctors broke the collarbones of both babies just to welcome them into the world. By contrast, T.J. was a dream delivery. He hit the scales at 8 pounds, 13 ounces.
“I called T.J. our ‘peanut,’” Connie said.
These are details Steelers fans should know now that two-thirds of NFL’s rollicking First Family call Pittsburgh home. T.J., 25, is a two-time Pro Bowl linebacker and a cornerstone of the Steelers defense. Derek, 27, an offseason free-agent acquisition, is the club’s new fullback and special teams standout.
“It’s a very surreal experience to be out on the practice field and be able to look over and see the Watt (name) on the back of the jersey of someone other than myself,” T.J. said in a recent interview.
If you live in their neighborhood don’t be surprised to witness spontaneous foot races, feats of strength and general tomfoolery. Everything is a contest.
And with this ornery brood, there’s no such thing as a free pass, especially now with T.J. and Derek living in the same Pittsburgh neighborhood.
“T.J. is a big family guy and he loves having Derek around, but it didn’t take long for the pranks to start,” longtime friend Doug Devoe said. “T.J. likes to water his lawn. Derek went over to his house one day and turned the sprinklers around so they were doing nothing but watering T.J.’s driveway. Derek couldn’t wait to send us a video.”
Such is life growing up Watt.
TOM REED / DKPS
Connie and John Watt, next to a gift given to them by the boys for Christmas.
‘NOT ALL ABOUT J.J.’
Two points become abundantly clear when visiting the Watt’s home on the fringes of Waukesha County. Family is important. Extravagance is not.
The new house is nice, yet understated. It doesn’t sit in a gated community. You could use first-down yardsticks to measure the distance between their driveway and the neighbor’s driveway.
Family photos adorn the walls and shelves. A framed picture of the first grandchild, Logan, wearing a Steelers toque -- he’s Derek’s son -- earns pride of place on an end table next to the living-room sofa.
The most intriguing keepsake, however, hangs on a wall in the foyer and it tells an amusing tale through the eyes of children. Last year, T.J. called his brothers and spent an hour brainstorming the 60 most memorable quotes of their youth. There are plenty of inside jokes and a few hilarious typos. They are presented in list form, and were given to John and Connie last Christmas in Pittsburgh.
“TJ why haven’t I seen a report card in a while?"
“Mom, I hit the garage backing out of the garage.”
“JJ can’t drink red Hawaiian Punch anymore.”
“Time to pump some iron.”
“Grandpa is taking us to Old China Buffett for lunch.”
“Put your hockey gear on the dryer.”
“Angels danced the day you were born.”
“Boys stop fighting.”
Mom and dad cherish the framed memento. Among their favorite quotes is one they used often to calm the two youngest siblings.
“You guys are going to be best friends one day.”
Derek and T.J. Watt always had each other’s backs. Except when they were at each other’s throats.
“They were crazy competitive,” Devoe said. “They would be playing shinny hockey and the next thing you know sticks were flying. It would almost come to blows.”
Derek and T.J., separated by just those two years, are teammates for the third time in their football careers — first at Pewaukee High, then the University of Wisconsin and now with the Steelers.
But for many years they were simply known as “J.J.’s little brothers.”
The oldest Watt boy set the bar high for family excellence. It could be a blessing and, at times, a curse for those following in his path.
Most football fans are familiar with the story. J.J. Watt evolved from a scrawny tight end at Central Michigan to University of Wisconsin walk-on to one of the NFL’s most dominating defensive linemen and a three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year, with the Houston Texans.
John took his oldest son to NX Level gym at age 15 hoping the boy might develop into a “Division III” college prospect. Brad Arnett took one look at John’s hulking frame and J.J.’s long limbs and huge hands and thought, “We might be able to do a bit better than that.”
As J.J. began seeing results, his focus narrowed. There were no weekend parties or hours spent playing video games.
“We would schedule 5:30 a.m. workouts and I would pull into the parking lot and see J.J. standing there waiting for me to let him in,” said Arnett, an NX Level proprietor and former college strength and conditioning coach.
Added family friend Taylor Jannsen: “They were all the same way. All kids have priorities. With them, there was no Nos. 2, 3 or 4 priorities. They were all driven to succeed and doing that meant making sacrifices.”
Grandpa Jim Watt served as the boys’ biggest booster. He never missed a game or practice. He was the best friend a grandson could have. John, a retired firefighter and former state shot put champion, wasn’t interested in being the boys’ buddy. His role was to be a father, a dispenser of discipline and justice.
John wanted his kids to:
• Be somebody.
• Set goals in life.
• Make sure you’re on time, which in Watt-speak translates to 15 minutes early.
Connie, who runs J.J.’s charitable foundation, also was a standard-bearer. As a young mother, she went to work as a secretary for a building inspection company and retired as its vice president. She also was tasked with feeding a family that routinely went through eight gallons of milk per week.
She prepared three warm meals a day and whipped up more milkshakes than Dairy Queen.
“I was spending between $800 to $1,000 a month on groceries,” Connie said. “I remember someone saying, ‘You’re not a very good shopper,’ and I said, ‘Actually, I am but the boys are eating all the time.’”
The Watt household revolved around school, chores and games. They grew up near scenic Pewaukee Lake, but spent most of their hours playing in backyards, gyms, ice rinks and parks.
All three boys excelled at hockey — imagine Derek and T.J. as third-pair Penguins defensemen — but John found the sport too expensive and time consuming. The boys played in a league based in Detroit.
“They will tell you to this day their favorite sport is hockey,” John said. “T.J. was mad at us because he had just made the top team in Wisconsin for 9-year-olds when we got out of (hockey). He still holds that over us.”
Almost any family would be thrilled to have one son play football in the Big Ten. But as J.J.’s star rose — he is four years older than Derek — Connie grew concerned about the impact on the other boys.
“I was walking through the crowd at the Rose Bowl and someone said, ‘You have an amazing son,’ and I just immediately turned back and said, 'I have three amazing sons.’” Connie recalled. “My sister looked at me and said, ‘Wow, that was pretty quick,’ and I said, ‘It’s true. It’s not just all about J.J. because he gets all the attention.”
WATT FAMILY
Derek (34) and T.J. Watt (42) have been teammates at high school, college and pro levels.
TEAM PLAYER
J.J. and T.J. Watt have seven Pro Bowls appearances and three first-team All-Pro honors between them. Ask anyone from Pewaukee who was the family’s best prep player and the answer will come back "neither."
“Derek is one of the top high school football players to ever come out of Wisconsin,” said former Pewaukee defensive coordinator Mike Lecher, who also coached John Watt. “There was one year where he was an all-state running back and linebacker. He was so strong and so smart. He made plays on both sides of the ball that defied description. Derek might be low Watt in terms of NFL flash and sizzle, but no member of the family has gotten more out of their talent. Unlike his brothers, there were no late growth spurts for the 6-foot-2 middle child. He is 234 pounds of desire and dirty work.
He went to Wisconsin as a linebacker, but agreed to switch to fullback for the good of the program. He’s the only Watt boy to finish his schooling, earning a degree in business.
While J.J. and T.J. made immediate impacts as first-round picks, Derek joined the Chargers as a 2016 sixth-round selection having to fight for a roster spot.
In four seasons, he’s never missed a game or played fewer than 122 snaps in a year. Though used primarily as a blocker on offense, Derek can make plays with the ball in his hands. The fullback has 10 career catches good for a 15.2 yard average.
“I think he is a very well-rounded athlete,” T.J. said. “First and foremost, he can catch the ball out of the backfield, he can line up wide and run crisp routes. Obviously, we know that he can block being a fullback . . . I think he can do a multitude of things. And that is just on the offensive side of the ball.”
John said he took as much pride seeing Derek lead the NFL in special teams tackles last season as watching his more publicized sons sack quarterbacks.
His parents are thrilled to have him in Pittsburgh, and not just because of the reunion with T.J.
John grew up a Packers fan and briefly lived in Green Bay before moving to Pewaukee (population: 14,631). He knows what the franchise means to fans in Wisconsin and throughout the country.
“Pittsburgh has the same feel as here with the Packers,” John said. “I’m amazed when we travel to see how many Steelers fans they have nationwide. It’s like Packers fans. They are just always following the team wherever it goes.
“We were at an Eagles game in Los Angeles (three) years ago and if you would have closed your eyes during pre-game introductions, you would have thought we were in Philadelphia. It had to be 90/10 Eagles fans. It’s never that way in Pittsburgh.”
The Steelers showed immediate interest in Derek when he hit the open market but his agents, who also represent J.J. and T.J., didn’t disclose that information to family. They didn’t want anyone getting their hopes too high in case a deal fell through.
The club eventually signed Derek to a three-year, $9.75 million contract that includes $3.25 million in guarantees. He can use that money to support his growing family — and one assumes pay a portion of T.J.’s water bill.
TOM REED / DKPS
Brad Arnett trained all three brothers at his Pewaukee area gym.
FROM INJURY TO STARDOM
To watch T.J. Watt create chaos on Sundays, you would never know the doubts that lingered in his mind as a college underclassman. He’s compiled 27.5 sacks over the past two seasons and last year led the NFL with eight forced fumbles.
He is a 6-foot-4, 252-pound menace to offensive backfields.
But Devoe can tell you about the late-night phone calls from Madison, the tears audible on the other end of the line. John can tell you about the strange question he received following a sophomore season at Wisconsin in which T.J. managed just seven tackles in eight games.
“One day, he asked me, ‘Dad how did you become a firefighter because I’m not sure about this whole football thing,’” John recalled.
Here was a father once again pleading for calm, but this time it didn’t involve a sibling fight.
T.J. was struggling with expectations and knee injuries. While J.J. was starring in Houston and Derek was headed to the Chargers, the youngest child was, in the words of Devoe, trapped in a “pit of misery.”
“He was super down,” the family friend said. “But I knew he was coming off an injury. I also knew how self motivated he was.”
T.J. spent the offseason prior to his junior season locked inside Arnett’s torture chamber. He grew into his frame and honed his craft. He started following J.J.’s advice, paying greater attention to his diet and sleep habits.
“He kept saying, ‘I’m tired of waiting for my turn. I want it to be my time.’ ” Arnett said.
T.J. returned to Madison with sound mind and body, logging 11.5 sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss. The Steelers made him the 30th overall pick in the 2017 draft.
“He is such a good athlete,” said his former high school football coach Clay Iverson. “He’s a linebacker now, but he has the best hands of any kid I’ve ever coached. He was a quarterback in his senior year. I knew when he got healthy, he would be fine. I’ve told Connie she needs to write a book on raising kids. And, it’s not about putting three of them in the NFL. It’s about always doing the right thing. It’s about knowing what you want in life and working hard to get it.”
TOM REED / DKPS
A trophy case at Pewaukee High School features a tribute to the Watt brothers.
TOGETHER AGAIN
There’s a trophy case at the high school honoring the Watt brothers. One item is a collectible featuring figurines of all three boys on the same field.
In real life, it’s never happened, but that could change Sept. 27 at Heinz Field. That’s the date the Texans are scheduled to play the Steelers.
In the past, injuries to J.J. have scuttled meetings between the brothers. Now, a global pandemic will force the Steelers to play home games behind closed doors at least through September.
“Lots of people from here want to go that game, but I know that’s going to be hard,” Connie said Monday. “It will be something special to see all three of them of the field at once. We’ve got to get that picture. I don’t know what’s going to happen, but we’re going to find a way to sneak into that stadium.”
The COVID-19 outbreak has afforded the Watts one unexpected delight. All three kids and their extended families spent the majority of the offseason around Pewaukee. J.J. has a home here, and the boys split time working out in his gym and at the one at NX Level.
Arnett usually keeps workouts to two hours max, but when the Watt clan trains together the sessions can run longer than Stanley Cup overtime games.
“It’s insane,” Arnett said. “They are in here trying to outdo each other. There is yelling and cursing. It just becomes a big contest. There is a mindset with these guys: They don’t want to do a drill until they get it right. They want to do it until they never get it wrong. That’s their approach to everything in life.”
As she sits in her living room reminiscing, a smile flashes across Connie’s face. What makes her happy isn’t the fame or money. It was never about that when she was shuttling kids to games and pre-dawn workouts.
The mother finds joy in seeing all three kids finally excelling at the same level.
“For the younger two boys, it was super hard to be ‘J.J.’s younger brother’ — and for so long, too,” Connie said. “Now, I hear J.J. joke that, ‘I’m the brother of the two Steelers.’”
Some day, maybe they will add that quote to the list of what it means to grow up Watt.
Dale Lolley contributed to this report.
