Maraad Watson

Maraad Watson
No. 88 – Texas Longhorns
Position	Defensive tackle
Class	Junior
Personal information
Listed height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight	333 lb (151 kg)
Career information
High school	Irvington (Irvington, New Jersey)
College	Syracuse (2024); Texas (2025–present);
	Stats at ESPN

Maraad Watson is an American college football defensive tackle for the Texas Longhorns. He previously played for the Syracuse Orange.

Early life

Watson attended Irvington High School in Irvington, New Jersey. As a senior, he totaled 72 tackles and 15 sacks in seven games.^[1] Coming out of high school, Watson was rated as a three-star recruit, the 24th player in New Jersey and the 136th defensive tackle in the class of 2024 according to 247Sports.^[1] He received offers from schools such as Rutgers, Syracuse, Kent State, Nebraska, and Tennessee.^[2] Watson initially committed to play college football for the Kent State Golden Flashes before flipping to pick the Syracuse Orange.^[1]

College career

Syracuse

In week 14 of the 2024 season, Watson notched six tackles in an upset win over Miami.^[3] During the 2024 season, he appeared in 13 games with 11 starts, where he recorded 31 tackles with one and a half being for a loss, a sack, and a pass deflection.^[4] For his performance he was named a freshman All-American by 247Sports. After the season, Watson entered the NCAA transfer portal.^[5]

Texas

After the 2024-25 season, Watson transferred to play for the Texas Longhorns.^[6] In Week 2 against San Jose State, Watson recorded 1.5 sacks.^[7]

College statistics

Year	Team	GP	Tackles					Interceptions				Fumbles
Year	Team	GP	Solo	Ast	Cmb	TfL	Sck	Int	Yds	TD	PD	FR	Yds	TD	FF
2025	Syracuse	13	13	18	31	1.5	1.0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0
2025	Texas	12	6	17	23	1.5	1.5	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
Career		25	19	35	54	3.0	2.5	0	0	0	1	0	0	0	0

References

1 2 3 Leiker, Emily. "Syracuse lands new 2024 signee in New Jersey D-lineman Maraad Watson". Syracuse.com. Retrieved April 25, 2025.
↑ McAlister, Mike. "Maraad Watson Flips From Kent State, Commits to and Signs With Syracuse Over Tennessee". Syracuse Orange on SI. SI.com. Retrieved April 25, 2025.
↑ Galatzan, Matt. "Freshman All-American Transfer Commits to Texas Longhorns". Texas Longhorns on SI. SI.com. Retrieved April 25, 2025.
↑ Mink, Nate. "Syracuse transfer linked to 4 of football's big spenders". Syracuse.com. Retrieved April 25, 2025.
↑ Edmonds, Javon. "Syracuse loses Freshman All-American to transfer portal". Syracuse.com. Retrieved April 25, 2025.
↑ Edmonds, Javon. "Fran Brown is happy about Maraad Watson's Texas-sized payday". Syracuse.com. Retrieved April 25, 2025.
↑ "Maraad Watson College Gamelog". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved September 23, 2025.

External links

[commit-1] 1 2 3 Leiker, Emily. "Syracuse lands new 2024 signee in New Jersey D-lineman Maraad Watson". Syracuse.com. Retrieved April 25, 2025.

[2] McAlister, Mike. "Maraad Watson Flips From Kent State, Commits to and Signs With Syracuse Over Tennessee". Syracuse Orange on SI. SI.com. Retrieved April 25, 2025.

[3] Galatzan, Matt. "Freshman All-American Transfer Commits to Texas Longhorns". Texas Longhorns on SI. SI.com. Retrieved April 25, 2025.

[4] Mink, Nate. "Syracuse transfer linked to 4 of football's big spenders". Syracuse.com. Retrieved April 25, 2025.

[5] Edmonds, Javon. "Syracuse loses Freshman All-American to transfer portal". Syracuse.com. Retrieved April 25, 2025.

[6] Edmonds, Javon. "Fran Brown is happy about Maraad Watson's Texas-sized payday". Syracuse.com. Retrieved April 25, 2025.

[7] "Maraad Watson College Gamelog". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved September 23, 2025.

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