Xavier Watts

American football player (born 2001)
Xavier Watts
Notre Dame Fighting Irish – No. 0
PositionSafety
Class
Redshirt
Redshirt
Senior
Personal information
Born: (2001-11-22) November 22, 2001 (age 22)
Omaha, Nebraska, U.S.
Height6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight201 lb (91 kg)
Career history
College
Bowl games
  • 2022 Fiesta Bowl (Jan.)
  • 2022 Gator Bowl
  • 2023 Sun Bowl
High schoolHarry A. Burke
(Omaha, Nebraska)
Career highlights and awards
  • Stats at ESPN.com

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.

High school career

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]

US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
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:3/5 stars   247Sports:4/5 stars    ESPN:4/5 stars   ESPN grade: 80

College career

2020 season

In the COVID-19 shortened 2020 season, Watts would be given a redshirt after appearing in two games and recording no statistics.[5]

2021 season

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]

2022 season

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.

2023 season

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]

College statistics

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 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

References

  1. ^ "Xavier Watts's Stats". MaxPreps.com. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  2. ^ Sampson, Pete. "Shaped by his father's example, Xavier Watts carved his own path to Notre Dame". The Athletic. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  3. ^ Gray, Tim. "Omaha Burke's Xavier Watts looking forward to the grind at Notre Dame". Lincoln Journal-Star. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  4. ^ Sautter, Mike. "Ex-Burke star Xavier Watts got a first taste of Notre Dame football, now he can't wait to get back". Omaha World-Herald. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  5. ^ Shald, Matt. "Xavier Watts' Road to Notre Dame". Nebraska News Service. Retrieved November 24, 2023.
  6. ^ "Notre Dame WR Xavier Watts Moves to ROVER LB". UHND.com. Retrieved November 3, 2023.
  7. ^ Farmer, Douglas. "Notre Dame 99-to-0: No. 0 Xavier Watts, senior safety, likely starter". NBC Sports. Retrieved November 27, 2023.
  8. ^ Stires, Sean. "Xavier Watts At Home Playing Safety For Notre Dame". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  9. ^ Sanchez Cordova, Jose. "Xavier Watts, Irish safeties lead with experience". The Observer. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  10. ^ Levitan, Jonathan. "5 observations and more from Duke football's first half against Notre Dame". Duke Chronicle. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  11. ^ Skiver, Kevin. "Notre Dame vs. Southern Cal final score, highlights: Xavier Watts powers Irish to 48–20 win". South Bend-Tribune. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  12. ^ Burlage, Todd. "USC vs. Notre Dame game balls". On3.com. Retrieved October 16, 2023.
  13. ^ Berardino, Mike. "Dream season continues for Xavier Watts of Notre Dame football with Nagurski Trophy". South Bend Tribune. Retrieved December 5, 2023.
  14. ^ Mellor, Cam. "2023 All-Independent College Football Team and Individual Honors". College Football Network. Retrieved December 14, 2023.
  15. ^ "Joe Alt And Xavier Watts Earn Unanimous All-America Status". Notre Dame Athletics. Retrieved December 14, 2023.

External links

  • Notre Dame Fighting Irish bio
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