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Tennessee Football 'heavily in the mix' for Syracuse transfer DL Maraad Watson

IMG_3593by:Grant Ramey•04/19/25•

GrantRamey

Maraad Watson, Syracuse Football
Maraad Watson, Syracuse Football

Tennessee Football is one of four schools “heavily in the mix” for Syracuse standout transfer defensive lineman Maraad Watson, according to On3’s Hayes Fawcett. Georgia, Ohio State and Texas are the other three programs involved, along with the Vols. 

The 6-foot-3, 313-pound Watson, was recruited by the Vols out of Irvington High School in Irvington, N.J., in the 2024 class. He was a three-star prospect ranked as the No. 97 defensive lineman in the class and the No. 18 overall prospect in the state of New Jersey. 

Watson as a freshman at Syracuse last season had 31 tackles — 13 solo, 18 assisted — in 13 games. He had 1.0 sacks, two tackles for loss and one pass defended. 

Vols scheduled to host two transfer defensive tackles on visits

Tennessee is scheduled to host a couple other defensive linemen on visits in Western Michigan defensive tackle Mason Nelson and North Carolina defensive tackle Joel Starlings.

On3’s Pete Nakos reported on Friday that Starlings has scheduled visits with Tennessee, Auburn and Mississippi State and is also considering a Maryland visit. 

The 6-foot-5, 310-pound Starlings, out of Richmond, Va., was a four-star prospect in the 2023 recruiting class, ranked No. 313 nationally. He was the No. 41 defensive lineman in the class and the No. 8 overall prospect in the state of Virginia. 

He had one tackle during a redshirt season as a freshman in 2024. 

Nelson, a 6-foot-1, 310-pound prospect at Western Michigan, had 71 tackles — 31 solos, 40 assisted — in 37 games over the last four seasons. He had 14 tackles for loss and 5.0 sacks, with 13 of the 14 tackles for loss and four of the five sacks coming over the last two seasons. 

Mason, from Howell, Minnesota, has already visited New Mexico and will likely visit Cincinnati and Minnesota.

Four Tennessee players have entered the NCAA Transfer Portal this spring

Tennessee has lost four players to the NCAA Transfer Portal so far during the spring window: Quarterback Nico Iamaleava, defensive backs Christian Charles and John Slaughter and offensive lineman Ayden Bussell. 

Iamaleava threw for 2,616 yards, 19 touchdowns and five interceptions last season, his first and only season as Tennessee’s starting quarterback. Charles, a redshirt senior, had 71 tackles in 30 career games with the Vols. Slaughter, a junior from Mississippi, had six tackles in 23 games over the last two seasons.

Iamaleava is reportedly headed to UCLA after a messy breakup with Tennessee, which started with negotiations for a new NIL contract and turned into a practice holdout last Friday.

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