Texas gets big boost with addition of ex-Cal RB Tre Watson

Texas landed what could prove to be a significant addition to its offense on Sunday.

Tre Watson, a graduate transfer running back from Cal, announced that he will play his final season of college football for the Longhorns. He will be immediately eligible to play in 2018.

Watson appeared in 37 games over four seasons at Cal, rushing for 1,390 yards and eight touchdowns in the process. He also has 37 catches for 379 yards and five scores in his career.

The 5-foot-11, 205-pound Watson had his best year in 2016 when he had 709 rushing yards, 241 receiving yards and eight total touchdowns. He entered the 2017 campaign as Cal’s starter, but went down with a torn ACL in Week 2.

After the year, Watson was granted a medical hardship and opted to pursue his final year at another school. He chose the Longhorns over Texas Tech. LSU was also in the mix.

“I’ve been looking for a school that’s going to play big time football,” Watson, who is expected to arrive on campus later this month, told Orangebloods.com. “I came from Cal, and mainly the focus was on academics there. I wanted to go somewhere and play football, pursue my master’s, and get the best opportunity.”

Watson provides a veteran presence for a position that needed it. With Chris Warren III deciding to leave early for the NFL, junior Kyle Porter (466 career yards, 261 in ‘17) and sophomores Toneil Carter (252 yards) and Daniel Young (373 yards) were competing for carries throughout spring. But Porter hurt his ankle and Carter and Young both frustrated UT head coach Tom Herman with fumbles.

Watson, with his career 5.1-yard rushing average, should be a nice security blanket for the Texas offense.

Watson is the third graduate transfer to join the Texas roster. Calvin Anderson, an offensive tackle formerly of Rice, and tight end Kendall Moore, formerly of Syracuse, also committed to UT. Anderson, like Watson, is likely to slide into a prominent role.

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Sam Cooper is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!

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