The UCF Knights got some bad news ahead of their home game against the Arizona State Sun Devils on Saturday. Wednesday availability reports shared that running back Duke Watson is going to be out.
Watson was injured early in last week’s win against Kansas. He would be tackled awkwardly, and despite making it off the field under his own power would be carted to the locker room. Watson later returned to the UCF sidelines in street clothes and a walking boot.
After that game, UCF head coach Scott Frost confirmed it was a foot injury. The exact severity wasn’t clear at the time. The team hasn’t clarified the exact nature of his injury since then, but it’s clearly bad enough to keep him out for some time.
Unfortunately, for UCF, Watson wasn’t the only running back to get injured against Kansas. Landen Chambers also left later in the game. He did not appear on the Wednesday availability report, a good sign.
Duke Watson Has Been Vital to the UCF Knights
A transfer into UCF, Duke Watson has been the team’s best running back all season long. That’s helped the Knights to lean on the running game and overcome some injuries at quarterback.
In nine games, Watson has 596 yards on 94 carries to go along with 3 touchdowns. That’s 6.34 yards per carry. He also has 8 receptions for 15 yards. That has made Watson by far the most productive running back for UCF this season.
Landen Chambers is second on UCF in rushing, but he only has 225 yards on 4.1 yards per carry. Then, Taevion Swint is third with 181 yards on 4.5 yards per carry. They’ve combined for 7 rushing touchdowns.
With quarterback Alonza Barnett healthy, they’ll have his dimension in the running game. Defenses will also have to respect him as a passer, opening up running lanes. Still, it’s clear that UCF is going to need their depth at running back to step up in a major way during the home stretch of the season. After all, they’re now just one win shy of bowl eligibility for the first time since 2023.
UCF HC Scott Frost Addressed the Running Back Room
On Wednesday night, Scott Frost had his weekly coach’s show. There, he would address the running back situation.
With Watson out, UCF is likely going to turn to a mixture of Landen Chambers and Taevion Swint against Arizona State. However, Frost also did bring up Agyeman Addae, who has been coming on strong lately in that running back room.
“Swint’s back,” Frost said. “And I feel good about him, and I think Landen’s going to be good. But AG’s ready to go, too, if we need him.”
Addae is a sophomore who came to UCF as a walk-on a season ago. This season, he has six carries for 74 yards, or 12.3 yards per carry, and a touchdown. He also flashed some nice play late against Kansas.
“AG’s practiced a lot, and he’s made some plays for us,” Frost said.
Certainly, it seems like UCF has the depth at running back to overcome the Watson injury, at least for the time being.
UCF RB Duke Watson Status for Arizona State, Scott Frost Comments