Wisconsin Football: Freshman Running Back Nakia Watson

Nakia Watson is the newest running back on campus in 2018. He has high praise from the staff and may contribute right away.

What’s Wisconsin football without a running game? Don’t worry, we don’t know either. Nakia Watson, the freshman back from Texas, looks like he’s cut out to be the next big-name runner in Madison.

The Badgers found a diamond in the rough with Jonathan Taylor last year, who was a three-star running back out of New Jersey. Watson is also a three-star recruit. It was difficult to find a reliable backup to Taylor in 2017, which means Watson has a chance to grab some snaps if he performs well early on.

He was part of a powerhouse program in Texas at Westlake where he scored over 50 touchdowns his last two seasons. He played against some of the best competition Texas had to offer and held his own. There’s no question he can eventually do that in college. The only question is, how soon?

The Badgers are in a strange spot with their running backs. The starter, Taylor, might be the best back in the country. But behind Taylor is a bunch of question marks. Bradrick Shaw is still not yet fully recovered from a knee injury. Chris James can be a solid back, but he has yet to prove it at Wisconsin. Taiwan Deal has battled injuries since his strong freshman campaign. Garrett Groshek was fine at time last year, but can’t really be given the backup role.

Watson will have to fight through a solid depth chart to earn carries, but there’s no reason he can’t make it through the sea of question marks. After all, the only question mark Watson has is about his inexperience.

Watson looks like the kind of back that isn’t afraid to run through contact. He knows arm tackles won’t bring him down and he isn’t afraid to challenge a defender. If you see Watson on the field early, it’s because he must be really good. If not, he will have the chance to fully acclimate himself to the college game.

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Watson did not an enroll early at Wisconsin. His first action with the team will take place this fall.