Miami (OH) · L 21-24
No catches.
Temple · W 34-20
No catches.
Air Force · L 26-35
1 catch, 4 yards
The other 5 games average 23 yards. This one was 19 below.
Watson has catches in 6 of UConn’s 8 games: none against Miami (OH) and Temple.
Dashed line: 100 yards.
Xavier Watson
One game to point at: 37 receiving yards and 2 receptions against Southern Miss — Week 3, 2026.
118 receiving yards · 9 catches · 1 receiving TD
Play style
Shows up in the passing game from any alignment.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
Against Air Force on Oct. 31: 1 catch for 4 yards. In the 6 games drawn here: 9 catches for 118 yards. UConn has thrown to him 12 times in 170 passes.
Each game is split into its four quarters, so the columns line up from game to game; inside a quarter, plays keep their order. Third and fourth downs are marked under the line, bold when he moved the chains.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | UConn | 9 | 118 | 13.1 | 1 | 23 |
| Career | 9 | 118 | 13.1 | 1 | 23 |
Last game (Wk 9): 4 receiving yards, 1 catch.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 6 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 56-7vs Lafayette | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 0 | 12 | |
| Wk 2 | L 14-38vs Maryland | 2 | 27 | 13.5 | 0 | 15 | |
| Wk 3 | W 48-20@ Southern Miss | 2 | 37 | 18.5 | 0 | 20 | Season-high 37 yds |
| Wk 5 | L 41-42vs Syracuse | 2 | 30 | 15.0 | 1 | 23 | |
| Wk 8 | W 35-16vs Massachusetts | 1 | 8 | 8.0 | 0 | 8 | |
| Wk 9 | L 26-35@ Air Force | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 0 | 4 | |
| Total | 9 | 118 | 13.1 | 1 | 23 |
Week 5 · 2026
L 41-42
vs Syracuse
2 rec · 30 yds · 1 TD
With K. Osborne — 314 yds · 3 TD · 0 INT · QBR 60.5 · 23 rush yds (9 car) · C. Bowers — 163 rush yds (16 car) · 2 TD · 2 rec · 16 yds
The plays that mattered most
Conference ranks count every player in the conference with a row in that stat, any position. Career ranks count current FBS players, from the games in our log.
Ratings of the games shown run from -16 to -1 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Receiver profile · Targets, catch rate, and throw depth
How often he's targeted, and how well it works
Targets
136% of team targetsCatch rate
69%9 of 13 targetsShort · 0–9 air yds
Middle · 10–19 air yds
Deep · 20+ air yds
69% catch rate on 13 targets · 6% of the team's targets.
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 6 games
Home vs Road
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 1.5 | 19.2 | 12.1 | 0.2 |
| Road2g | 1.5 | 20.5 | 11.2 | 0.0 |
First half vs Second half
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-74g | 1.8 | 26.5 | 14.8 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 1.0 | 6.0 | 6.0 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Jason Candle
Pass share
44.1%
226 pass / 286 run
Plays / game
64.0
8 games
Team sack rate
9.1%
274 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2026
Fewer catches a game than most FBS tight ends who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #105 at the position.
The No. 1,622 recruit in the country is starting at tight end in the FBS Independents.
2026 is in progress.
Coaching lineage · 2025–2026
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Jim Mora → Jason Candle. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
