| Texas Longhorns–No. 98 | |
|---|---|
| Position | Defensive tackle |
| Class | Sophomore |
| Major | Sociology |
| Personal information | |
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) |
| Weight | 327 lb (148 kg) |
| Career history | |
| College | |
| High school | Irvington (Irvington, New Jersey) |
Maraad Watson is an American college football defensive tackle for the Texas Longhorns. He previously played for the Syracuse Orange.
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]
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]
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]
| Season | GP | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Solo | Ast | Cmb | TfL | Sck | Int | Yds | TD | PD | FR | Yds | TD | FF | ||
| Syracuse Orange | ||||||||||||||
| 2024 | 13 | 13 | 18 | 31 | 2 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Texas Longhorns | ||||||||||||||
| 2025 | 4 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 17 | 15 | 26 | 41 | 4 | 2.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |