Maraad Watson Flips From Kent State, Commits to and Signs With Syracuse Over Tennessee

Syracuse has landed a talented defensive tackle prospect from New Jersey.

Mike McAllister | Dec 20, 2023

Maraad Watson Flips From Kent State, Commits to and Signs With Syracuse Over Tennessee /

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Syracuse football has landed a commitment from Irvington (NJ) High defensive tackle Maraad Watson, who was previously committed to Kent State. Watson signed with the Orange on Wednesday.

Watson was also being heavily pursued by Nebraska and Tennessee, both of whom offered earlier this month. In fact, he originally had an official slated for Nebraska this past weekend before cancelling that in favor of Tennessee. That trip was not enough to overtake the Orange. .

Watson took an official visit to Syracuse during the previous weekend along with his his high school teammate Jahide Lesaine. Lesaine committed the Sunday night following the trip. Now Watson will join him in Central New York.

Watson is a 6-3, 285 pound defensive tackle prospect. His high school head coach, Smoke Pierre, thinks Watson has a tremendously high ceiling at the next level.

"Dominates the line of scrimmage every single week," Pierre said. "Quick twitch kid that plays with violence. Maraad has strong hands, plays well with short space and is explosive."

Watson was a late entry to the power five recruiting scene. After committing to Kent State earlier this month, power five schools started recruiting him hard. Offers came from Rutgers, Syracuse, Nebraska and Tennessee. Others were inquiring as well. Ultimately, though, Watson felt at home during his Syracuse visit and that was enough to earn his commitment.

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Published Dec 20, 2023

MIKE MCALLISTER

Title: Publisher All Syracuse Education: Roberts Wesleyan College Location: Syracuse, New York Expertise: Syracuse basketball, football and recruiting. EXPERIENCE Mike McAllister has been covering Syracuse basketball, football and recruiting for more than a decade. Mike's career started with his own free blog as a way to vent following sporting events. Shortly thereafter, a network of basketball sites called Coast 2 Coast Hoops asked him to run their Syracuse site. That site was called Nation of Orange, and Mike quickly established it as a go-to for Syracuse fans. After running Nation of Orange for several months, a position with the Syracuse site on the Scout network became available. After one year as the recruiting expert with Cuse Nation, he was named the publisher. Mike oversaw the transition from Scout to 247Sports, and ran the site on that network for years. Presented with the opportunity to join one of the biggest names in the sports journalism industry, Sports Illustrated, Mike jumped at the chance. All Syracuse was started from scratch by Mike and the Fan Nation team. It has now become a staple for Orange fans of various sports. Mike has broken news on recruiting, Syracuse basketball and football team information and has established himself as the top recruiting inside in the market. He has appeared on local radio shows, television broadcasts, national radio shows and much more. Mr. McAllister has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Accounting and Information Management from Roberts Wesleyan College.