As of this writing, Notre Dame defensive back [autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag] is not on the list of accepted invites to the Reese’s Senior Bowl. [autotag]Riley Leonard[/autotag] is there, but there at least is hope now that Watts will join him in that game.
The Senior Bowl has named Watts its Defensive Player of the Week for his performance in the Irish’s win over USC. He culminated a terrific regular season for him by recording nine tackles, breaking up one pass, registering one quarterback hit and picking off a pass that returned for a program record-tying 100 yards to score.
Watts leads the Irish with nine passes defended and five interceptions this season. The pick against the Trojans put him in the lead for interception return yards with 136.
Watts became the sixth Irish defensive player to score a touchdown this season and the fifth to do so via interception. The fourth player was [autotag]Christian Gray[/autotag], who did it on the possession before Watts’ score:
The Irish will need Watts if they want to make a run during the College Football Playoff. It seems like only a matter of time before he makes a big play during that, too.
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