Duke Watson, a four-star running back from Mary Persons High School in Forsyth, Ga., joined the Louisville ’24 recruiting class in June.
Other schools have continued to recruit Watson, who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 180 pounds. However, Watson visited Louisville running backs coach Chris Barclay earlier this week and is expected to sign with the Cardinals later this month.
Watson, who stated that Barclay was a big reason for his commitment, said he enjoyed spending time with his future position coach.
“It was great,” Watson said to Cardinal Authority. “He was just checking in on me and he was letting me know how ready The Ville is for me.”
Watson, who was previously committed to Georgia Tech, committed to Louisville in early June, just two days after returning from an official visit with the Cardinals. Before leaving town, he told the U of L staff that he was committing.
Watson received 22 scholarship offers in total and committed to Georgia Tech in early March. But, after visiting Georgia Tech, NC State, Auburn, Alabama, and Ole Miss during the month of April, he announced on May 12 that he was withdrawing his commitment to the Yellowjackets.
The new staff at U of L had visited Mary Persons and had kept in touch with Watson. Watson had 200 carries for 1,669 yards and 14 touchdowns as a junior. He also had 17 receptions for 184 yards and four touchdowns. Watson gained 8.3 yards per carry.
In 11 games as a senior, Watson ran 220 times for 1,865 yards and 30 touchdowns. He rushed for 100 yards or more in 10 of 11 games, including 315 yards and five touchdowns against Prince Avenue Christian. Watson had 5,541 yards and 71 touchdowns in 40 career games, averaging 7.7 yards per carry.
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