Tag: Xavier Watts

Two Notre Dame players named to ESPN’s top defensive backs for 2024

Two All-Americans roam the Irish secondary

Over the last few years, Notre Dame’s secondary has produced some of the best playmakers in the country.

Safety Kyle Hamilton has turned into a star, while his former teammate cornerback [autotag]Benjamin Morrison[/autotag] was starting to become one. Safety [autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag] found his perfect position and went on the win the Bronko Nagurski Award his past season.

Both current Notre Dame players were named to ESPN’s top 10 defensive backs for 2024, as they were one of two schools to place two on it. Morrison was No. 5 on the list, getting a first-place vote while Watts was two spots below him and also got a first-place vote.

The Notre Dame secondary is literally a no-fly zone as they will have two elite players roaming the back end of the Irish defense.

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More good news for Notre Dame as another star decides to return

Massive news for the Irish

Since blowing out Oregon State in the Sun Bowl, Notre Dame football has been the recipient of great news regarding player movement.

Shortly after the blowout was completed, we found out that defensive end Jordan Botelho was going to return. In even bigger news, star safety [autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag] has also decided to “run it back” as he made the announcement on social media.

The winner of the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, who led the nation in interceptions, is a massive win for Marcus Freeman and the Irish. It shores up the secondary along with cornerback Benjamin Morrison, giving Notre Dame two of the best at their respective positions.

Watts is clearly welcomed back with open arms and we expect another big season in 2024. It also says a lot about the fact that many players want to stay in South Bend and continue to be coached by Freeman and make a run at the College Football Playoff.

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Notre Dame has two players named unanimous All-Americans

Congrats Joe and Xavier!

It was a day to remember for two Notre Dame football stars, as they were etched in Irish history.

Offensive tackle [autotag]Joe Alt[/autotag] and safety [autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag] were both named to yet another All-American team, but this sum of the whole was important. It made both of them unanimous All-Americans, making the pair the No. 35 and No. 36 in Notre Dame football storied history.

It was quite the season for each of them, Watts leading the country in interceptions and winning the Bronko Nagurski Trophy. Alt didn’t bring home any individual hardware, but his play spoke for itself, as he was once again one of the best offensive tackles in the country.

Watts still has eligibility remaining, while Alt has decided to move on to the NFL.

Congrats to both of them on having an amazing 2023 season.

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Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts wins Bronko Nagurski Trophy

X won it!!!!

Not many expected Notre Dame football safety [autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag] to have a huge year, but it was a pleasant surprise for Irish fans.

The senior would lead the country in interceptions with seven, also causing and recovering a fumble. Tack on 47 total tackles, and that’s quite the season for a safety.

It was more than enough to get the attention of the [autotag]Bronko Nagurski Trophy[/autotag] committee, because on Monday night, Watts won the award. The award goes out annually to the best defensive player in college football, and he becomes the first Notre Dame player to win the award since linebacker [autotag]Manti Te’o[/autotag] in 2012.

A massive honor for Watts, who came into the program as a wide receiver. It’s safe to say that the position switch paid off. Congrats Xavier!

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Notre Dame statistical leaders through 11 games

Hopefully, these players can end the regular season on a high note.

Notre Dame has one game left in the regular season against Stanford. Good luck finding a way to watch it on the Pac-12 Network, but that’s a topic for another day. Right now, let’s focus on who is most likely to help the Irish beat the Cardinal.

Statistically, here’s who is likely to factor in whether the Irish can get revenge for last year’s defeat in South Bend:

Notre Dame football safety Xavier Watts a finalist for Bronko Nagurski Trophy

The best defender in the nation could ultimately reside in South Bend

The nations interception leader, Notre Dame safety [autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag], has turned in an extremely impressive senior campaign.

He is fourth on the team in tackles, obviously first in interceptions, and has battled away four other passes. That kind of effort will surely get some nation notice today Watts was named a finalist to the [autotag]Bronko Nagurski Trophy[/autotag].

The award is given out annually to the best defensive player in college football. It’s a surprise to many that Watts has performed at this high of a level, but a welcome one.

Career highs all across the board for Watts, in what has become a season to remember.

Rounding out the rest of the nominees are Iowa safety Cooper DeJean, Illinois defensive tackle Jer’Zhan Newton, Georgia safety Malaki Starks, and NC State linebacker Payton Wilson.

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Notre Dame statistical leaders through 10 games

Here’s who to look for against Wake Forest.

Notre Dame has two games left to improve the quality of the bowl it will play in. That might not mean much given that the New Year’s Six bowls are out of play, but it still is something to shoot for. The first of these contests comes against Wake Forest.

Here are the players statistically leading the Irish going into their home finale, one of which knows the Demon Deacons very well:

Social media reacts to Xavier Watts interception to set up touchdown

There we go.

Notre Dame was looking for a spark against Clemson. It finally came in the form of a [autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag] interception on the first possession of the second half. Watts snagged a deflected pass out of the air and returned it 33 yards to the Tigers’ 2-yard line. [autotag]Audric Estime[/autotag] promptly ran into the end zone to cut the Tigers’ lead to 24-16:

Watts’ interception was his seventh of the season, the most of anyone in the country. Unfortunately, the momentum gained from the aforementioned sequence didn’t last. When the Tigers took the ball back, they moved it as well as they did for most of the first half. They ultimately got those surrendered points back on a touchdown from Phil Mafah, making the score 31-16.

Despite the disappointment that followed, fans still were excited to see Watts come up with the football yet again. Here’s how social media reacted to his latest big play:

Notre Dame’s Xavier Watts gets national recognition for 2-pick game against Pittsburgh

Congrats Xavier! More to come!

When you have a player that records two interceptions like [autotag]Notre Dame football[/autotag] safety [autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag] did against Pittsburgh, it’s sure to gain some national attention.

The NCAA leader in picks was recognized by the [autotag]Bronko Nagurski Trophy[/autotag] as it’s national defensive player of the week, the second week in-a-row he’s been recognized for a national award. It wasn’t just the two takeaways that impressed, it was the fact that Watts also had three tackles as well.

On the year, the Irish senior has 39 tackles, 6 interceptions with a forced fumble and recovery. Watts has been an extremely bright spot for a Notre Dame defense that is statistically one of the best in the country. His efforts have helped the Irish rank 10th nationally in scoring defense.

Congrats Xavier!

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Watch: Every interception by Notre Dame football against Pittsburgh

Relive each Notre Dame interception against PItt right here

This past weekend was a fun one for [autotag]Notre Dame football[/autotag], they routed Pittsburgh to a tune of 58-7.

It wasn’t just the Irish offense that made its mark, it was defensively as well. Notre Dame’s defense all day was a ball hawking, forcing five turnovers, with four interceptions on the day. Three Irish defenders got a pick, [autotag]Jaden Mickey[/autotag]’s went back to the house, [autotag]Christian Gray[/autotag] and [autotag]Xavier Watts[/autotag], twice, joined in on the action as well.

Fortunately for us, NBC Sports X account, the website formerly known as Twitter, shared a short clip of all four of the interceptions for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy.

That was fun, wasn’t it?

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