Syracuse Football: Maraad Watson boosts defensive line, picks ‘Cuse over Tennessee

Maraad Watson, a 2024 three-star prospect who hails from New Jersey, committed to Syracuse football on Wednesday, beefing up the Orange’s defensive line.

The 6-foot-3, 285-pound Watson, who announced his pledge to the ‘Cuse via social media as the early signing period began on Wednesday, had previously been verbally committed to Mid-American Conference member Kent State.

According to his bio on the 247Sports Web site, Watson de-committed from Kent State on December 17, opening his recruitment back up.

Recently, he took official visits to both Syracuse football and Southeastern Conference member Tennessee, with media reports suggesting that he would choose between those two teams.

Ultimately, he committed to the Orange, further bolstering the 2024 class being assembled under new head coach Fran Brown and his staff. It should be noted that Brown and a few other 'Cuse coaches are also from New Jersey and have deep recruiting ties in that state.

Syracuse football has landed a pledge from 2024 three-star DL Maraad Watson.

On Wednesday, prior to a commitment announcement, the ‘Cuse was receiving some analyst buzz in Watson’s recruitment on the 247Sports Web site and the On3 Web site.

He is a senior at Irvington High School in Irvington, N.J. That is the same school attended by 2024 three-star defensive end/tight end Jahide Lesaine Jr., who had also been verbally committed to Kent State and pledged to Syracuse football on December 10.

The Orange coaching staff offered Watson on December 6. Per recruiting services, Watson held more than 10 scholarship offers. Besides Syracuse football, Tennessee and Kent State, those offers included college squads such as Nebraska and Rutgers, among others.

Several recruiting services, including 247Sports, Rivals.com and the industry-generated 247Sports Composite, rate Watson as three stars.

At 247Sports, he checks in as the No. 92 defensive lineman and the No. 12 prospect in New Jersey within the 2024 cycle. When I wrote this piece, the 247Sports Composite placed him at No. 1,283 nationally, No. 136 at defensive lineman and No. 24 in New Jersey.

Since officially replacing Dino Babers as the ‘Cuse head coach on December 4, Brown and his staff have secured numerous “new” commitments from 2024 high school players.

Those Syracuse football pledges include Lesaine, four-star edge KingJoseph Edwards, three-star linebacker Fatim Diggs, three-star edge Caden Brown, four-star running back Yasin Willis, three-star wide receiver Jaylan Hornsby and four-star wide receiver Emanuel Ross.

Via the transfer portal, the Orange lately has won commitments from Texas A&M junior defensive lineman Fadil Diggs, Buffalo sophomore safety Devin Grant, West Virginia freshman linebacker James Heard Jr., Ohio State junior quarterback Kyle McCord, Georgia freshman wide receiver Yazeed Haynes and Georgia junior wide receiver Jackson Meeks.