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Maraad Watson named one of On3's spring transfers that will make the biggest impact in 2025

Joe Cookby:Joe Cook•05/06/25•

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Maraad Watson, Syracuse Football
Maraad Watson, Syracuse Football

Texas signed 11 transfers during the winter and spring cycles, and that group was ranked as the No. 11 transfer portal class by On3. But one of the players Texas brought in during the spring could have a major impact on the Longhorns’ 2025 season.

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Syracuse transfer defensive tackle Maraad Watson was ranked as the No. 5 spring transfer likely to make the largest impact in the 2025 season, according to On3’s Pete Nakos. Watson was ranked as On3’s No. 93 player in the transfer portal across both windows and the No. 5 defensive lineman.

Here’s what Nakos had to say about Watson as he begins his career on the 40 Acres with three years of eligibility remaining.

Texas has gone to work on its defensive line this offseason, bringing in five transfers. But the Longhorns scored their biggest win in the spring window, landing Syracuse freshman standout Maraad Watson. The 6-foot-3, 313-pound defensive lineman finished his 2024 season with 31 tackles and a sack. He also showed up as a disruptor against Miami, forcing chaos and pressure on quarterback Cam Ward. With three years of eligibility remaining, he’s expected to be a key piece of the Texas defensive line in the years to come.

Last season, the 6-foot-3, 313-pound freshman All-American logged 31 tackles with 1.5 for loss plus one sack in 13 games. He also added a pass defended. Watson, a product of Irvington, N.J., logged a Pro Football Focus defensive grade of 65.1 He had a run defense grade of 77.4, a pass rush grade of 58.2, and a tackling grade of 58.6. Watson logged 493 snaps for the Orange with 289 in the B-gap, 102 in the A-Gap, 33 over tackle, and 69 aligned outside the tackle. PFF credited Watson with 10 total pressures. He was also credited with 15 defensive stops, a stat PFF defines as “tackles that constitute a ‘failure’ for the offense.”

Watson was one of five defensive tackle additions from the transfer portal for the Longhorns. Purdue’s Cole Brevard, North Carolina’s Travis Shaw, and Ohio State’s Hero Kanu joined in the winter window while Watson and Maryland’s Lavon Johnson signed with Texas after entering the portal in the spring window.

The list of impact players features several players on Texas’ schedule. Cal transfer running back Jaydn Ott, who left Berkeley for the Oklahoma Sooners, was listed as the No. 8 transfer set to make the largest impact. North Carolina EDGE Beau Atkinson transferred from Chapel Hill to the Ohio State Buckeyes, so the Longhorns will see him in week one. Rounding out the top 10 was Army linebacker Elo Modozie, who left West Point to join Kirby Smart‘s Georgia program.

Texas’ transfer class ranked No. 17 according to On3. No. 4 Oregon and No. 10 Ohio State were the only other teams to have top-20 transfer classes that consisted of 11 or fewer additions.

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On3’s spring transfers set to make the biggest impact

  1. UCLA QB Nico Iamaleava
  2. Tennessee QB Joey Aguilar
  3. Texas Tech EDGE David Bailey
  4. LSU DL Bernard Gooden
  5. Texas DL Maraad Watson
  6. Miami WR Keelan Marion
  7. Penn State WR Trebor Pena
  8. Oklahoma RB Jaydn Ott
  9. Ohio State EDGE Beau Atkinson
  10. Georgia LB Elo Modozie

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