Notre Dame Safety Xavier Watts Returning To The Irish….
Xavier Watts, an All-American safety, has unanimously decided to rejoin the Fighting Irish in 2024. Watts, who won the Bronko Nagurski Award for being the top defensive player in the country, posted the news on social media with the message, “Run it back.” Only a few days had passed since Notre Dame’s 40-8 Sun Bowl victory against Oregon State.
With seven interceptions in 2023, Watts topped the country as a prominent member of the Irish defense. Throughout the season, he recorded 52 tackles, one forced fumble, and one fumble recovery. For a player who entered Notre Dame as a wide receiver, it was quite the season. In 2021, Watts moved to the defensive line. He will serve as the team’s fifth and last season in 2024.
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An X-Factor in a Stacked Irish Defense is Xavier Watts
The Notre Dame defense is returning several standout players in addition to Watts, including three of its top four tacklers. In addition, defensive end Jordan Botelho, linebacker Jack Kiser, defensive tackle Rylie Mills, and fellow All-American Howard Cross III will be back. Benjamin Morrison, a shutdown cornerback, will join Watts in the secondary. In 2023, Cross recorded 66 tackles, including seven for loss. He was a second-team All-American and had two forced fumbles. In 2023, Mills recorded 47 tackles, 5.5 of which were for loss, including 2.5 sacks. Kiser has 62 tackles, 1.5 sacks, one forced fumble, and one interception. Botelho finished with 32 tackles, four sacks, and 4.5 yards lost.
Watts had a national breakout performance against the USC Trojans on Oct. 14. In a game won by Notre Dame, 48-20, Watts intercepted Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams twice. Both picks set up touchdowns. Adding an exclamation point to his exceptional performance, Watts scored a touchdown of his own late in the dominating victory, returning a fumble for a touchdown. The Notre Dame defense shined again in the Sun Bowl, nearly pitching a shutout in the runaway victory over the Beavers.
Despite the departures of DJ Brown and Thomas Harper to the NFL Draft, and losing Ramon Henderson in the transfer portal, Notre Dame has plenty of reasons to celebrate the return of Xavier Watts. His valuable experience and veteran leadership will anchor a stout Irish defense in 2024. The already formidable unit will also feature incoming transfers RJ Oben, a defensive end from Duke, and Jordan Clark, a defensive back from Arizona State. While star power will be immense for the Irish next season, the main reason to rejoice is that Watts’ return means the Irish will have the best defensive player in college football on the roster for another year.