Blake Watson has been nothing if not consistent this season for Memphis football].

After rushing for 75 yards and scoring three touchdowns in the Tigers' season-opening win against Bethune-Cookman on Sept. 2: "With the guys I have up front, I expected that."

After he rushed for 169 yards and a touchdown in a 28-24 win against Navy on Sept. 14: "I just tried to stay patient, let my O-line work for me."

After he gained 269 all-purpose yards in a 45-42 win against North Texas on Oct. 28: "I've just got to thank my O-line and especially my tight ends, as well. I always forget about them, but not this time. I've got to thank them, for sure. They're the ones that are making the holes for me, and I just hit them."

After he eclipsed 1,000 yards in a 45-21 win against Temple on Nov. 24: "I'm blessed. I've got to give thanks for all my O-linemen, receivers, tight ends, everybody around me for pushing me, helping me get to this milestone."

Watson's deference to his teammates has been just as constant as his play on the field this season. He arrived in Memphis in January and will finish his Tigers career less than a year later when Memphis (9-3) faces Iowa State (7-5) in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl on Friday (2:30 p.m., ESPN) at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium.

Though Watson only played one season with Memphis, it's fair to say his impact goes beyond those 12 and soon-to-be 13 games.

An impact that goes beyond one year

Watson's brother, Brad, played cornerback for Wake Forest and later in the NFL for the Chargers. The Watsons moved to Green Hope, North Carolina, when Blake was going up and he started playing running back.

"From day one, he was never that kid that you're like, 'Man, I gotta coach this guy. Like there's all the talent in the world but he's a jerk,' " said Will Bolding, who coached Watson in middle school and high school. "That was never the case with Blake. He was always a down to earth kid. Man, his parents did a great job raising him. He's a 'No, sir, yes, sir' kind of kid."

Memphis fans know Watson exclusively as a running back, but he was a wide receiver until his sophomore year of college. He spent five years at Old Dominion, switching to running back during his sophomore year and suddenly becoming one of the most productive backs in the Group of Five.

He rushed for 1,112 yards and eight touchdowns in 2021, then put up similar numbers in 2022 and entered the transfer portal with one year of eligibility remaining. Memphis, known recently for its NFL-caliber running backs, had just gone the entire 2022 season without a 100-yard rusher in a game.

Watson was sold on the opportunity, hoping to add his name to the ever-growing list of elite rushers to come through the Tigers program. He won the starting job, became the bell-cow running back Ryan Silverfield and his staff had been looking for and finished the regular season with 1,045 rushing yards and 14 touchdowns.

He also added 50 catches for 458 yards and three touchdowns.

"It's all like riding a bike," Watson said, when talking about catching passes out of the backfield. "It just comes back to you."

His success also factors into the future of the Tigers program. Mario Anderson, South Carolina's leading rusher in 2023, committed to Memphis over offers from Southern Cal and Oklahoma earlier this month. That came after running backs coach Sean Dawkins posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, a graphic of Watson's stats and a message that "If you are looking for a university with a great platform and opportunity at the RB position. Let’s talk!"

Watson has always been the kind of player everyone in the locker room and the program gravitates towards. After Justin Walker — the head football trainer at Old Dominion — had his first son, Watson gifted him a onesie and a tiny pair of sneakers.

"He's very personable about everything that he does," Walker said. "Blake has always been just that kind of person that's going to always care about the people that cared about him."

Watson has been the stabilizing force Memphis needed this season, rushing for over 100 yards four times and earning a first-team All-AAC selection.

After Friday's game the focus turns to the NFL Draft, where he'll hope to join former Tigers like Tony Pollard, Kenny Gainwell and Antonio Gibson.

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And the one year in Memphis may have changed the future for Watson.

"I can't say enough about those guys," Watson said. "I mean, they welcomed me with open arms. And they brought me into this family and I learned so much from them, and hopefully they learned just as much from me."

Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on Twitter @thejonahdylan.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis football: Blake Watson impact could last beyond his one season