‘24 RB Duke Watson Commits to Louisville

The running back from Georgia is the ninth commitment for the Cardinals in the 2024 recruiting class.

LOUISVILLE, Ky - The Louisville football program has landed yet another high-caliber talent in the Class of 2024.

Forsyth (Ga.) Mary Persons running back Duke Watson announced Sunday that he has committed to the Cardinals. He chose Louisville over held offers from Kentucky, Cincinnati, Kansas State, Penn State and others.

"I would like to thank my very supportive family and the coaches that helped me along to way," Watson said in a graphic posted to Twitter. "I will give Louisville 1000% of my effort and time!"

The four-star running back had previously been committed to Georgia Tech, originally committing to the Yellow Jackets in early March before backing off of his verbal pledge on May 12. He is coming off of an official visit to Louisville, and was one of 11 prospects on campus this weekend.

The 6-foot-0, 180-pound Watson ranks as high as the No. 25 running back in the class and the No. 38 player in the talent-rich state of Georgia, according to On3’s in-house rankings. He comes in as the No. 372 overall prospect in the 2024 cycle by the On3 Industry Ranking.

Watson has been a versatile weapon for Mary Persons over the last two seasons. In 2022 as a junior, he ran for 1,669 yards and 14 touchdowns on 200 carries to average 8.3 yards per carry, while also catching 17 passes for 184 yards and two touchdowns. The year before as a sophomore, he ran the ball 230 to amass 1,716 yards and 25 touchdowns, averaging 7.5 yards per carry in the process.

Louisville now sports a nine-man recruiting class in the 2024 cycle with Watson’s commitment. He’s the second running back in the cycle to commit to the Cardinals, joining fellow four-star and Homestead (Fla.) product Isaac Brown.

(Photo of Duke Watson via Hudl)

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