Cal grad transfer RB Tre Watson to take official visit to Texas

Armed with extra scholarships, the Texas Longhorns continue to pursue graduate transfer targets, including California Golden Bears running back Tre Watson, who will take an official visit to Austin for the Orange-White game this weekend:

The 5’10, 190-pounder from Corona opted to transfer in January after he suffered a season-ending injury in the second game last fall. By February, four months after Watson’s surgery, he was already squatting 315 pounds.

Over the weekend, he visited Texas Tech and made a decision about a future visit:

Watson called his time in Lubbock “the best trip of my life.”

So the competition right now is LSU and Texas Tech, with two more official visits available to Watson.

A consensus mid three-star prospect out of high school, Watson was also recruited by schools like Boise State, BYU, Washington, and Washington State. After arriving in Berkeley, Watson carried the ball 25 times as a freshman before emerging as a sophomore with 89 carries for 504 yards and three touchdowns, along with 100 yards and a touchdown as a receiver. In 2016, Watson turned 143 carries into 709 yards and four touchdowns, while also expanding his ability as a receiver with 241 yards and another touchdown through the air. On special teams, Watson has 657 career kickoff return yards.

Perhaps best all, Watson only fumbled once over the 249 that represented his last three seasons.

There aren’t any testing numbers on Watson, but he’s smooth in the open field and shows the ability to run by opponents at the college level, especially in the screen or delay game. In size and speed, he’s similar to Toneil Carter, but runs with low pads and can make defenders miss in the hole while displaying some tackle-breaking ability.

Basically, Watson is a higher floor version of Carter with more experience and reliability.

Texas currently has juniors Kyle Porter, Tristian Houston, Cameron Townsend, and Kirk Johnson on the roster, along with sophomores Carter and Daniel Young. The 2018 signee, Keaontay Ingram, will arrive in June.

So there are plenty of bodies there, but with Houston and Townsend possessing little to no game experience at running back, Johnson injured for the last several seasons, and Young and Carter still struggling to separate themselves, Herman is still looking around.

Just another message sent to Young and Carter, at the least.