Blake Watson: RB · Memphis · #4.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Blake Watson
Beats you as a runner and a receiver. The five seasons span two programs and three head coaches: Bobby Wilder, Ricky Rahne and Ryan Silverfield. All-AAC in 2023 was the second season with an honor. A game that shows it: 169 rushing yards and 100 receiving yards against North Texas — Week 9, 2023.
Play style
Threatens defenses in every dimension — rushing, receiving, third-down.
Boom vs consistent · carry-yardage shape
Steady, not spectacular
Just 27.0% of his season rushing yards came on his 5 best carries — remarkably even — and he's stuffed on 19.6% of his carries. 5 carries for 13 yds vs Tulane; 17 for 169 vs North Texas.
Counted from the play-by-play, so a carry or two can differ from the box score.
Closer · Q4-with-lead carry share
The closer
46.7% of carries overall (188/403) → 36.1% of Q4-with-lead carries (35/97) — 45.7% of those in competitive (≤16-pt) games.
Counted from the play-by-play, so a carry or two can differ from the box score.
Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
11 of 18 on 3rd/4th-and-2-or-less (61.1%). 10 of the team's 33 inside-the-5 carries (30.3%).
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
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| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Memphis | 192 | 1,152 | 6.0 | 14 | 69 |
| 2022 | Old Dominion | 157 | 897 | 5.7 | 5 | 67 |
| 2021 | Old Dominion | 215 | 1,112 | 5.2 | 8 | 46 |
| 2019 | Old Dominion | 25 | 116 | 4.6 | 1 | 20 |
| 2018 | Old Dominion | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 589 | 3,277 | 5.6 | 28 | 69 |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Memphis | 53 | 485 | 9.2 | 3 | 63 |
| 2022 | Old Dominion | 37 | 314 | 8.5 | 2 | 36 |
| 2021 | Old Dominion | 10 | 55 | 5.5 | 1 | 13 |
| 2019 | Old Dominion | 13 | 79 | 6.1 | 0 | 25 |
| 2018 | Old Dominion | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 113 | 933 | 8.3 | 6 | 63 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2023 season · 13 games
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| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 56-14vs Bethune-Cookman | 10 | 75 | 7.5 | 3 | 21 | 3 rushing TDs |
| Wk 2 | W 37-3@ Arkansas State | 20 | 51 | 2.6 | 0 | 13 | |
| Wk 3 | W 28-24vs Navy | 10 | 169 | 16.9 | 1 | 69 | Season-high 169 yds |
| Wk 4 | L 27-34vs Missouri | 18 | 47 | 2.6 | 0 | 13 | |
| Wk 5 | W 35-32vs Boise State | 19 | 113 | 5.9 | 2 | 22 | |
| Wk 7 | L 21-31vs Tulane | 5 | 13 | 2.6 | 0 | 8 | |
| Wk 8 | W 45-21@ UAB | 21 | 125 | 6.0 | 1 | 29 | |
| Wk 9 | W 45-42@ North Texas | 17 | 169 | 9.9 | 2 | 65 | 169-yard day |
| Wk 10 | W 59-50vs South Florida | 10 | 64 | 6.4 | 1 | 34 | |
| Wk 11 | W 44-38@ Charlotte | 22 | 83 | 3.8 | 2 | 15 | |
| Wk 12 | L 34-38vs SMU | 10 | 41 | 4.1 | 1 | 11 | |
| Wk 13 | W 45-21@ Temple | 15 | 95 | 6.3 | 1 | 18 | |
 Bowl | W 36-26@ Iowa State | 15 | 107 | 7.1 | 0 | 55 | |
| Total | 192 | 1152 | 6.0 | 14 | 69 |
Week 9 · 2023
W 45-42
at North Texas
169 rush yds (17 car) · 2 TD · 5 rec · 100 yds
Edged out North Texas on the road in a shootout.
With S. Henigan — 330 yds · 1 TD · 0 INT · QBR 68.7 · 14 rush yds (6 car) · R. Bauer — 46.3 yards per punt · 3 punts · 2 inside the 20
The plays that mattered most
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
Success rate
45%174 carriesFumble rate
1.0%2 of 192 carries · 1 lostStuffed
0 or fewer ydsGrind
1–3 ydsChunk
4–9 ydsExplosive
10+ yds6.0 yds/carry on 192 carries · 16% explosive (10+ yds) · 45% success rate.
Situational · Carry shape (PBP, full season)
Yardage DNA
Stuffed (≤0)
Grind (1–3)
Chunk (4–9)
Explosive (10+)
Splits · Per-game
2023 season · 13 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 79.2 | 7.2 | 1.3 |
| Road6g | 105 | 6.0 | 1.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 82.1 | 6.5 | 0.9 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 96.2 | 6.1 | 1.3 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Ryan Silverfield
Pass share
53.3%
481 pass / 421 run
Plays / game
69.4
13 games
Team sack rate
3.8%
496 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2023
First team in his league at the position.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Two-star recruit. Now #19 at the position.
How it ended
Five seasons, at Old Dominion and Memphis, 3,277 rushing yards, a first-team All-Conference season (2023) — the college career is complete.
Recruited as a two-star, and honored since.
The role got bigger.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-AAC · 1ST TEAM
All-AAC 1st team (2023)
Coaching lineage · 2018–2023
3 coachesPlayed for 3 head coaches at 2 schools: Bobby Wilder, Ricky Rahne and Ryan Silverfield.
