Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
6/24Inside-5 share
6 of the team's 24 inside-the-5 carries (25.0%).
Nakia Watson
Nakia Watson: RB · Washington State · #25.
Similar players
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Nakia Watson
Wins in space out of the backfield. Played for three head coaches across five seasons and two programs. One game to point at: 64 rushing yards and 6 receiving yards against Washington — Week 13, 2023.
Style of play
Style of play
Play style
Deployed as a receiver as much as a runner. Value is in space, not between the tackles.
Fans
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
Where to follow
Career stats
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Washington State | 89 | 321 | 3.6 | 4 | 17 |
| 2022 | Washington State | 145 | 768 | 5.3 | 9 | 65 |
| 2021 | Washington State | 36 | 114 | 3.2 | 0 | 40 |
| 2020 | Wisconsin | 53 | 191 | 3.6 | 3 | 18 |
| 2019 | Wisconsin | 74 | 331 | 4.5 | 2 | 27 |
| Career | 397 | 1,725 | 4.3 | 18 | 65 |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Washington State | 24 | 230 | 9.6 | 3 | 37 |
| 2022 | Washington State | 30 | 296 | 9.9 | 4 | 35 |
| 2021 | Washington State | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2020 | Wisconsin | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2019 | Wisconsin | 3 | 3 | 1.0 | 0 | 6 |
| Career | 57 | 529 | 9.3 | 7 | 37 |
Game log
Game log · Week-by-week
2023 season · 12 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 50-24@ Colorado State | 7 | 15 | 2.1 | 0 | 7 | |
| Wk 2 | W 31-22vs No. 19 Wisconsin | 11 | 26 | 2.4 | 1 | 9 | |
| Wk 3 | W 64-21vs Northern Colorado | 9 | 41 | 4.6 | 1 | 11 | |
| Wk 4 | W 38-35vs No. 14 Oregon State | 8 | 46 | 5.8 | 0 | 17 | |
| Wk 6 | L 17-25@ UCLA | 11 | 25 | 2.3 | 0 | 4 | |
| Wk 7 | L 6-44vs Arizona | 5 | 0 | 0.0 | 1 | 6 | |
| Wk 8 | L 24-38@ No. 9 Oregon | 8 | 20 | 2.5 | 1 | 5 | |
| Wk 9 | L 27-38@ Arizona State | 7 | 30 | 4.3 | 0 | 16 | |
| Wk 10 | L 7-10vs Stanford | 2 | 1 | 0.5 | 0 | 2 | |
| Wk 11 | L 39-42@ California | 2 | 6 | 3.0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Wk 12 | W 56-14vs Colorado | 8 | 47 | 5.9 | 0 | 11 | |
| Wk 13 | L 21-24@ No. 4 Washington | 11 | 64 | 5.8 | 0 | 17 | Season-high 64 yds |
| Total | 89 | 321 | 3.6 | 4 | 17 |
Signature game
Week 7 · 2023
L 6-44
vs Arizona
5 rec · 88 yds
With N. Haberer — 45.3 yards per punt · 4 punts · 48 long · C. Ward — 192 yds · 0 TD · 1 INT · QBR 28.9
Signature plays
The plays that mattered most
- Week 1 · Colorado State · 4th and 1 · Q2 · EPA −4.21Nakia Watson run for a loss of 4 yards to the CSU 5
- Week 12 · Colorado · 3rd and 10 · Q2 · EPA +3.63Cameron Ward pass complete to Nakia Watson for 23 yds for a TD (Dean Janikowski KICK)
- Week 7 · Arizona · 3rd and 4 · Q1 · EPA +3.16Cameron Ward pass complete to Nakia Watson for 37 yds to the ARIZ 19 for a
- Week 1 · Colorado State · 3rd and 8 · Q4 · EPA +3.04Ward to Watson: a 12-yard touchdown pass.
- Week 6 · UCLA · 2nd and 9 · Q3 · EPA +2.74Cameron Ward pass complete to Nakia Watson for 9 yds for a TD (Dean Janikowski KICK)
- Week 7 · Arizona · 3rd and 1 · Q1 · EPA +2.45Nakia Watson run for 1 yd for a TD (Two-Point Conversion failed)
4 more plays
- Week 2 · Wisconsin · 3rd and 7 · Q4 · EPA +2.43Nakia Watson run for 9 yds to the WIS 42 for a
- Week 7 · Arizona · 2nd and 10 · Q3 · EPA +2.26Cameron Ward pass complete to Nakia Watson for 13 yds to the WSU 49 for a
- Week 7 · Arizona · 2nd and 2 · Q2 · EPA −2.08Nakia Watson run for a loss of 11 yards to the WSU 22
- Week 3 · Northern Colorado · 1st and 6 · Q2 · EPA +2.05Nakia Watson run for 6 yds for a TD (Dean Janikowski KICK)
Rushing profile
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
86 of 89 carries matched to play-by-play
Success rate
44%86 carriesStuffed
0 or fewer yds19%of carries
16 carries
Grind
1–3 yds34%of carries
29 carries
Chunk
4–9 yds41%of carries
35 carries
Explosive
10+ yds7%of carries
6 carries
7 of 8 (88%) converted on 3rd/4th & short (≤2 to go) · 3 of 6 (50%) scored from inside the 5-yard line
3.6 yds/carry on 89 carries · 7% explosive (10+ yds) · 44% success rate.
Teams and coaches
2019Wisconsin10-4HC: Paul Chryst · Run-heavy
2020Wisconsin4-3HC: Paul Chryst · Run-heavy, fast tempo
2021Washington State7-6HC: Nick Rolovich and Jake Dickert · Balanced
2022Washington State7-6HC: Jake Dickert · Pass-leaning
2023Washington State5-7HC: Jake Dickert · Pass-leaning
Our ratings
Splits
Home and road splits, scheme and staff
Splits · Per-game
2023 season · 12 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 26.8 | 3.2 | 0.5 |
| Road6g | 26.7 | 3.3 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 25.5 | 2.9 | 0.5 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 28.0 | 3.7 | 0.2 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jake Dickert
Pass share
60.5%
511 pass / 333 run
Plays / game
70.3
12 games
Team sack rate
7.1%
552 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Pass-leaning.
Awards
Player standing · 2023
89 carries and 24 catches in 12 games
About as many touches a game as a typical FBS running back who plays every week.
Recognition
Roster2-deepStarterRecognizedEliteApex
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
45 · #156 of 310 RBs · 2023
Three-star recruit. Now #156 at the position.
Five seasons, two schools
- 2023 Washington State DickertYear 5 · 12 games
- 2022 Washington State DickertYear 4 · 11 games
- 2021 Washington State RolovichYear 3 · 6 games
- Jan 2021 Entered the transfer portalWisconsin to Washington State
- 2020 Wisconsin ChrystYear 2 · 5 games
- 2019 Wisconsin ChrystYear 1 · 11 games
- Junior college Ventura CollegeThree-star junior college recruit. Signed with Washington State.
- High school WestlakeAustin, TX · Class of 2018Three-star, No. 456 in the 2018 class. Signed with Wisconsin.
Moves
- Transferred from Wisconsin to Washington State, Jan 1, 2021.
How it ended
Five seasons, at Wisconsin and Washington State, 1,725 rushing yards — the college career is complete.
A stat line in 45 games over five seasons.
2018
- Signed with WisconsinThree-star, out of Westlake
2020 5 games
- Signed with Washington State3-star out of Ventura College
2021 6 games
- Transferred to Washington Statefrom Wisconsin
Coaching lineage · 2019–2023
3 coaches2019–2020
Wisconsin
Played for 3 head coaches at 2 schools: Paul Chryst, Nick Rolovich and Jake Dickert.