New video emerges of J.J. Watt's high school highlights

The NFL's reigning defensive player of the year J.J. Watt was just a 2-star recruit out of high school and committed to Central Michigan as a tight end before transferring after one year to Wisconsin, where he became a dominant defensive end.

Watching Watt's highlights above (via MaxPreps), you can see flashes of the brilliance we've come to expect from Watt — especially the quickness off the line of scrimmage — but it's amazing how much of a leap he took from these high school days to the dominant force he was late in his Wisconsin career and then now as the NFL's most feared defender.

Watt's skills as a tight end are also on display in these highlights, and his background there explains why he's one of the best in the NFL at tipping and intercepting passes as a lineman.