The 2026 Rice Football recruiting class is doubling down on defensive backs in the Transfer Portal. Former UAB corner Tariq Watson has committed to the Owls.
Graduation and transfer attrition made corner a position of priority in the 2026 Rice Football recruiting class. In the week since the Transfer Portal opened, Rice has now picked up two pledges at the position, including their most recent add from an American Conference program. Former UAB corner Tariq Watson has committed to the Owls.
Watson committed to Minnesota out of high school and, after redshirting his freshman season in 2022, played all 13 games for the Gophers before transferring to UAB. He played in 11 games for the Blazers that year, starting one, before becoming a mainstay in 2025, starting seven games while appearing in nine.
With Watson aboard, Rice football has arguably filled its biggest portal needs this cycle. They added a pair of quarterbacks in former UCF quarterback Jacurri Brown and former UNLV passer Gael Ochoa as well as another corner, Coastal Carolina’s Zach Cody.
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In Watson, Rice gets a 5-foot-10, 185 pound veteran who immediately bolsters a room in need of bodies, preferably ones with experience at the FBS level. A former track athlete, the tape shows Watson can run and plays with aggression, two attributes that make him a nice fit for the Owls’ defense.
