Watters remembered
- Updated: June 9, 2026
Late Anniston High standout, Calhoun County Sports Hall of Fame inductee remembered as athletic, ‘tough as you can make it,’ leader.
By Joe Medley
East Alabama Sports Today
FLORENCE — Rodney Bivens’ memories of Orlando Watters run like a through line, with Watters occasionally summersalting over it.
That through line was Watters’ essence, which showed between bursts of his signature athleticism.
“He was a quiet leader who led by example, and tough,” said Bivens, who coached Watters at Anniston High School. “Just as tough as you can make it.
“He never backed down from any type of competition.”
Watters, a former Bulldog who starred in football at the University of Arkansas and played for the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks, has died. He was 54.
The 2022 Calhoun County Sports Hall of Fame inductee’s passing was acknowledged in a Tuesday social media post by The City of Anniston, and tributes from people who knew Watters began filling local social media feeds Tuesday morning.
As of this writing, there’s no public word on Watters’ cause of death. According to the S.M. Goodson Funeral Home Web page , he died Monday.
His obituary has yet to be published on the site.
Bivens, who served as Anniston’s defensive coordinator when Watters played for the Bulldogs, knew no details when reached Tuesday.
Bivens learned of Watters’ passing from former Anniston quarterback Steve Christopher, a teammate of Watters’.
“Steve Christopher called me yesterday and asked me, had I heard,” Bivens said. “Coach (Brenard) Howard has been trying to find out some of the details, but nobody seems to know anything,”
Howard coached wide receivers and linebackers when Watters played for Anniston.
Watters’ starred for Anniston’s 1989 Class 6A state championship football team. His Calhoun County Sports Hall of Fame profile describes him as “dominant” in football, track and baseball.
He started on offense and defense for Anniston’s football team, earning first-team All-County and All-State honors. He set Alabama High School Athletic Association receptions in a game and in a season, most notably 18 receptions against Cedartown. He caught 14 passes in Anniston’s 12-6 victory over Murphy in the state final.
He and Christopher starred for a spread-style offense that ran ahead of its time.
“When we were playing Benjamin Russell, we threw him a screen pass, and he started at the 5-yard line and dove and did a summersalt in the, and he almost landed on his feet in the end zone,” Bivens said.
Watters was especially dominant on defense, playing linebacker in the Bulldogs’ base defensive look then shifting to end or “rover” in a 5-2 alignment.
“Orlando was just a really great kid,” Howard said. “He had so much ability. He could do stuff without even trying. He was just that gifted.”
In track, Watters won the state long jump championship with a state-record leap of 24 feet, 10 inches.
He also pitched and hit for an Anniston baseball team that won the 1990 county tournament and reached the Class 6A playoffs.
“He would knock a home run, come back over and win the long jump and triple jump, then go back over and hit another home run,” Bivens said.
Watters was named most valuable player of the Alabama-Mississippi All-Star football game. He also played in the East-West All-Star Game.
A defensive back at Arkansas, he intercepted 12 passes in three seasons, returning three for touchdowns. He led the nation with 185 interception return yards in 1993.
He intercepted three passes and mounted 47 tackles in one season in Seattle.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
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