Notre Dame Fighting Irish–No. 0 | |
---|---|
Position | Safety |
Class | Senior |
Personal information | |
Born: | Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. | November 22, 2001
Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
Weight | 201 lb (91 kg) |
Career history | |
College |
|
Bowl games | |
High school | Harry A. Burke (Omaha) |
Career highlights and awards | |
|
Xavier Watts (born November 22, 2001) is an American football safety for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He won the Bronko Nagurski Trophy in 2023 after leading the FBS with seven interceptions.
Watts was born in Omaha, Nebraska and attended high school at Harry A. Burke. In high school, he hauled in 163 receptions for 2,978 yards and 36 touchdowns, while also rushing for 88 yards and a touchdown. On defense Watts notched 136 tackles with 7.5 being for a loss, 13 pass deflections, nine interceptions, and one touchdown. [1] Watts was ranked as the number two prospect in the state of Nebraska in the 2019 class. [2] Watts committed to play college football at the University of Notre Dame as a wide receiver. [3] [4]
Name | Hometown | High school / college | Height | Weight | Commit date | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Xavier Watts WR | Omaha, Nebraska | Harry A. Burke | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | 185 lb (84 kg) | Jul 5, 2019 | |
Recruiting star ratings: Scout: N/A Rivals: 247Sports: ESPN: ESPN grade: 80 |
In the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season, Watts would be given a redshirt after appearing in two games and recording no statistics. [5]
During the start of the 2021 season, injuries to the linebacker position made it possible for Watts to switch from receiver to defense. Watts saw snaps at the "rover" position, a mix between safety and linebacker. [6] Watts made his first defensive contribution against Virginia Tech, making three total tackles (one solo), in route to a 32–29 win. Watts also saw time at strong safety when Kyle Hamilton went down with a knee injury. Over 11 games, Watts had 15 total tackles (11 solo). [7]
Watts entered the 2022 season as the backup safety to Brandon Joseph. In the Irish's game against Stanford, Watts had three solo and four assisted tackles for a career-high seven total tackles. In Week 11, Watts got his first career start against Navy where he recorded a career-high eight tackles. Two weeks later, he would set a new career high in tackles making nine tackles against USC. [8] Watts played in 13 games with four starts in 2022 finishing the season with 39 total tackles (24 solo) and four pass deflections.
In Week 2 of the 2023 season, Watts recorded his first career interception in a win over NC State, 45–24. [9] In Week 5, Watts would record another big interception that helped Notre Dame beat Duke, 21–14. [10] In Week 7, Watts intercepted Caleb Williams on the first series of the game to help set up Notre Dame. [11] Watts would finish his career performance with seven tackles, two interceptions, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and a touchdown, as he helped the Fighting Irish upset No. 10 USC, 48–20. [12] Watts finished the regular season with 47 total tackles (28 solo), four pass breakups, a forced fumble, and a defensive touchdown. He also had an NCAA-leading seven interceptions, which helped him win the 2023 Bronko Nagurski Trophy. [13] Following the season, College Football Network named Watts a First-team All-Independent and Independent Safety of the Year. [14] He was also selected as a Unanimous All-American along with his teammate, Joe Alt. [15]
Legend | |
---|---|
Bronko Nagurski Trophy | |
Led the NCAA | |
Bold | Career high |
Notre Dame Fighting Irish | |||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | |||||||||||
GP | GS | Solo | Ast | Cmb | TfL | Sck | Int | Yds | Avg | TD | PD | FR | FF | TD | |
2020 | 2 | 0 | Redshirt | ||||||||||||
2021 | 11 | 0 | 11 | 4 | 15 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2022 | 13 | 4 | 24 | 15 | 39 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
2023 | 13 | 13 | 30 | 22 | 52 | 3.0 | 0.5 | 7 | 137 | 19.6 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Career | 39 | 17 | 65 | 41 | 106 | 5.0 | 1.5 | 7 | 137 | 19.6 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Grant Alden Wistrom is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL) for nine seasons. Wistrom played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers and was a two-time All-American. He was selected in the first round of the 1998 NFL draft, and played in the NFL for the St. Louis Rams and Seattle Seahawks.
Derrick Lee Strait is a former American college and professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) for three seasons during the early 2000s. He played college football for the University of Oklahoma, and was recognized as a unanimous All-American. The New York Jets chose him in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft, and he also played professionally for the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers of the NFL.
Rocky Michael Boiman is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Tennessee Titans, Indianapolis Colts, Kansas City Chiefs and Pittsburgh Steelers. He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. He was selected by the Tennessee Titans in the fourth round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He currently works as a football color commentator for ESPN College Football.
Todd William Lyght is a former professional American football player and former defensive backs coach for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Harry A. Burke High School is a secondary school located in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. The principal is Darren Rasmussen. The school's mascot is the Bulldog.
The 2007 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2007 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Charlie Weis and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. For the first time in school history, Notre Dame opened the season with five losses. Their nine-loss season was also a school record.
The 2008 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Charlie Weis and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. This was Weis's fourth season as Notre Dame's head coach, who entered the season with a 22–15 record, coming off a 3–9 season after posting back-to-back BCS seasons.
Manti Malietau Louis Te'o is a former American football linebacker. Te'o played college football at Notre Dame, where he was a unanimous All-American and received eight national awards. He was drafted by the San Diego Chargers in the second round of the 2013 NFL Draft and played in the National Football League (NFL) until 2021.
The 2012 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team represented the University of Notre Dame in the 2012 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The team was coached by Brian Kelly and played its home games at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana. They competed as an independent.
Harrison Smith, nicknamed "Harry the Hitman", is an American football safety for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and was selected by the Vikings in the first round of the 2012 NFL draft with the 29th overall pick.
Su'a Kristopher Cravens is a former American football safety. He played college football at USC, and was drafted by the Washington Redskins in the second round of the 2016 NFL Draft.
Marquis Flowers is a former American football linebacker. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the sixth round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Arizona. He also played for the New England Patriots, Detroit Lions, and Washington Redskins.
Tyler John Matakevich is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at Temple. He was drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the seventh round in the 2016 NFL Draft.
Antoine Duane Winfield Jr. is an American football safety for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Minnesota, and was drafted by the Buccaneers in the second round of the 2020 NFL draft.
Brandon Jones is an American football safety for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Texas.
Kyle Hamilton is an American football safety for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Notre Dame, where he was named a consensus All-American in 2021 before being drafted by the Ravens in the first round of the 2022 NFL draft.
Zaven Collins is an American football linebacker for the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Tulsa, where he was named a unanimous All-American and won several defensive player of the year awards in 2020. Collins was selected by the Cardinals in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.
Reed Scott Blankenship is an American football safety for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders and was signed by the Eagles as an undrafted free agent after the 2022 NFL draft.
Benjamin Morrison is an American football cornerback for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Jackson Sirmon is an American football linebacker for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Washington and California.