The University of Texas at Austin Athletics
Maraad Watson - 2026 Football Roster
Roster
Maraad Watson
- Position:
- DL
- Height:
- 6-3
- Weight:
- 333
- Class:
- Junior
- Hometown:
- Irvington, N.J.
- High School:
- Irvington
- Major:
- Physical Culture & Sports
CAREER HIGHS
- Tackles: 6 // vs. Miami, 11/30/24
- Solo Tackles: 2 (6x) // last vs. Oklahoma, 10/10/26
- Tackles for loss: 1.5 // vs. San Jose State, 9/6/25
- Sacks: 1.5 // vs. San Jose State, 9/6/25
- Interceptions: N/A
- Pass breakups: 1 // vs. UConn, 11/23/24
- Forced fumbles: 1 // vs. Texas State, 9/5/26
- Fumbles recovered: N/A
- Blocked kicks: N/A
A second-year defensive lineman who transferred to Texas from Syracuse in spring 2025 … has played in 31 career games with 22 starts ... named to the 2025-26 First-Year SEC Academic Honor Roll ... played in 13 games with 11 starts at Syracuse as a true freshman.
JUNIOR (2026)
Has started in all six games ... recorded one solo sack for a loss of three yards, which forced a fumble vs. Texas State (9/5) ... saw action vs. No. 1/1 Ohio State (9/12) ... logged one solo tackle vs. UTSA (9/19) ... tabbed five tackles (two solo), including one for a loss of four yards and a quarterback hurry at No. 14/13 Tennessee (9/26) ... registered five tackles (two solo) including a sack for loss of four yards vs. Oklahoma (10/10) ... compiled four tackles (two solo) vs. Florida (10/17).
SOPHOMORE (2025)
Appeared in 12 games, making six starts on the defensive line ... made his Longhorn debut at Ohio State (8/30) where he notched one tackle ... logged four total tackles (one solo) and 1.5 sacks for 12 yards against San Jose State (9/6) ... recorded four total tackles vs. UTEP (9/13) ... recorded four total tackles at Florida (10/4) ... logged two tackles (one solo) against Oklahoma (10/11) ... did not play at Kentucky (10/18) due to injury ... posted four tackles at Mississippi State (10/25) including 0.5 sack for 3 yards ... saw action against Vanderbilt (11/1) and at Georgia (11/15) ... notched one tackle and two quarterback hurries against Arkansas (11/22) ... credited with a solo stop against Texas A&M (11/28) ... logged two solo tackles and a quarterback hurry in the Cheez-It Citrus Bowl vs. Michigan (12/31).
BEFORE TEXAS
247Sports Freshman All-American and Midseason Freshman All-American ... appeared in every game with 11 starts at defensive tackle ... had 31 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, one sack, a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry on the year ... made his collegiate debut vs. Ohio (8/31), finishing with two tackles ... had 0.5 tackles for loss and a quarterback hurry during his first collegiate start against Georgia Tech (9/7) ... had two solo tackles vs. Stanford (9/20) ... Tallied his first collegiate sack against Holy Cross (9/28) ... made two tackles at UNLV (10/4) ... Had four tackles at Boston College (11/9) ... posted a pair of tackles at Cal (11/16) ... made four tackles and broke up a pass against UConn (11/23) ... had a career-high six tackles in the upset win over No. 6 Miami (11/30) ... made five tackles in the DIRECTV Holiday Bowl vs. Washington State (12/27).
HIGH SCHOOL
Recorded 72 tackles (9 TFL), 15 sacks and a pair of forced fumbles in seven games as a senior ... Second Team All-State selection ... earned all-division honors at Irvington ... ranked No. 24 player in the state of New Jersey by 247Sports.
PERSONAL
Son of Madereh Binks and Carl Watson .... stepfather is Terelle Cowherd … has two younger brothers, Umar and Asaii … didn’t start playing football until his sophomore year in high school, but picked up the game and had success quickly … played on the defensive and offensive lines in high school … didn’t get recruited until after his senior season of high school … played his senior year at Irvington (N.J.) … grew up in Newark, N.J. … is a lifelong New York Knicks fan … is motivated by his family … enjoys reading sci-fi books, playing video games, watching anime and movies … his grandfather was a talented artist … majoring in Physical Culture & Sports … interested in owning a real estate business after his football career … Julio Jones was his favorite football player and made him an Atlanta Falcons fan … Japan is his favorite place to travel to after visiting the country with his family this past spring.
