True to his character, Pat Watson's last day was spent with his players, his last night with his family.

In a time-consuming profession that often makes it difficult to do both, the University of Georgia assistant football coach was near those he loved Saturday, and those people spent Sunday trying to cope with their grief after a massive heart attack that took Watson's life Saturday evening at age 56.

Watson was at his Bogart home when he began experiencing chest pains around 8:15 p.m., Georgia head coach Jim Donnan said Sunday. Paramedics arrived at Watson's house within 10 minutes and administered CPR before transporting Watson to St. Mary's Hospital, where he died at 9:41 p.m -- a little more than five hours after Georgia's 24-23 victory over Central Florida.

Donnan said between 15 and 20 players, along with other coaches and administrative staff, rushed to St. Mary's after hearing the initial news of Watson's heart attack. Many lingered after his death, trying to comfort Watson's wife Freddie and children Jane and Cal. Watson's parents also were at the hospital; they had traveled from their home in Mississippi to watch Saturday's game and were with their son when he died.

On Sunday, Georgia held a team meeting in an effort to help the players and coaches come to terms with Watson's sudden passing. Many turned their sympathies to Watson's family.

''I think the big thing that hurts the most is just his family and how tight-knit they were,'' said Georgia offensive lineman Steve Herndon. ''Coach Watson was one of those kind of guys that was going to be first at work and last to leave, but at the same time, any time his son or daughter came up here, he always made time for them. You just want to send your thoughts and prayers for his family.''

Georgia did that at its meeting Sunday morning at Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall. It was an emotional gathering, with counselors and ministers on hand encouraging players to grieve together for Watson. Senior center Miles Luckie said the players, many still in a state of shock over the news, didn't hold back during the meeting.

''It was pretty emotional,'' Luckie said. ''A lot of guys just kind of let their feelings go. I guess, being football players, you're used to keeping your emotions pent up all the time. But this morning, it was kind of like nobody even cared about that, everybody was just together.''

Watson hadn't been with the Bulldogs for long, joining the staff in March of 1998. He came to Georgia largely because of his long-standing friendship with Donnan, which stretched back to 1974. The two men were assistant coaches at North Carolina then, and kept in touch throughout the years. When Donnan had an opening after George Edwards left the Georgia staff for the Dallas Cowboys, he hired Watson as a replacement in less than a week.

Watson initially coached the defensive ends at Georgia, but also served as Donnan's administrative assistant -- basically becoming his right-hand man with a number of off-the-field duties. When Chris Scelfo left the Bulldogs to take over the Tulane program last December, Watson took over as offensive line coach.

His players were impressed with Watson's approach on the practice field. He wasn't above screaming to get his point across, but most of the time he made reasonable demands and expected mainly that his charges play hard on every down.

''He was so good with us,'' Luckie said. ''The best compliment that you can ever give a coach is that he was fair. He was a fair coach. I just enjoyed working with him, we had a great relationship and I'll miss him a lot.''

Said Herndon: ''He was super, he just let us play. One thing touched on in the meeting today was Coach Watson's motto, which was, if you have a bad play, let's just forget about it and go on to the next one. He was that kind of guy. He had a never quit, never give up attitude. If you get beat, it's OK, but you'd better come back and win the next play.''

Watson was also well-regarded in the coaching fraternity during his 32 years in the profession. Scelfo said Sunday from New Orleans that Watson's death was a ''tragedy for the game of football.'' The two had known each other since the early part of the decade, when Scelfo was an assistant at Marshall and Watson at Georgia Tech. Scelfo said the two had spoken a number of times last spring and summer about the progress of Georgia's offensive line. Donnan called Scelfo late Saturday night to break the news.

''He's a very good teacher and a good motivator,'' Scelfo said. ''He'll be sadly missed, not only by Georgia but in the coaching profession.''

A memorial service has been scheduled for Tuesday at 2 p.m. at Prince Avenue Baptist Church, providing an opportunity for those who knew Watson to say goodbye to a man who did things the right way and for the right reasons.

''He's not only a great father and person,'' Donnan said, ''he was the epitome of what you want an old ball coach to be.''