Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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8 SEPT. 9, 2023 BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED UNDER THE DOME Senior safety Xavier Watts has come a long way since he was converted from a wide receiver to a rover before his sophomore season in 2021, and then ultimately to a defensive back. A shortage of back-end defenders and a deep wide receiver room necessitated the position switch, which ultimately had Watts cross-training and jumping back and forth on both sides of the ball. And even while the Omaha, Neb., native has made his position transition look easy, he admits the switch wasn't necessarily seamless. Watts appeared in all 13 games at safety last season, making starts in the last four outings. His total of 39 tackles in 2022 ranked eighth on the team and was tied for second among all Irish defensive backs. So, through all the position transition turmoil, Watts has carved his niche as a reliable safety starter at Notre Dame and a legitimate NFL Draft candidate. Blue & Gold Illustrated recently caught up with him and discussed his journey through Notre Dame so far, and what he's ex- pecting from himself and his team this season. BGI: It was about a seven- or eight-hour flight each way to and from Dublin, Ireland, for the Navy game; how did you handle the jet lag and time zone changes? Watts: "Sleep was obviously the most important recovery tool. On the plane, I just slept the entire time so I didn't feel much jet lag. I turned on some white noise or some R&B music on my headphones and just went to sleep. It was pretty easy for me." BGI: How difficult was it to make the position transition from offense to defense? Watts: "It was pretty difficult, going back and forth. It messes with your head, 'Am I doing some- thing wrong? Am I not that good?' Things like that. "I had support from my parents and, obvi- ously, the conversations with my coaches, they believed in me." BGI: You played both offense and defense in high school. What made for the tough transition and how did you work through it? Watts: "I've played football my entire life, so there's nothing different. But obviously, switch- ing positions from offense to defense is really difficult, especially at the college level — the schemes, the receivers are better — everything is sped up and it's more detailed." BGI: Your coaching staff decided this season to give you guys Sundays off instead of Mondays off, how do you feel about that? Watts: "Last year, we had Monday off but we still had class on Mondays so it was like a day off, but not completely. So, I definitely like the Sundays off because I like cleaning and doing all my homework on Sundays, and that's outside of watching NFL football." BGI: The effort in the 42-3 win over Navy was complete — start to finish and on both sides of the ball; what can that do for the confidence of the team? Watts: "Obviously, it's a confidence boost. You love to hold a team to three points. … But that should be our floor. We have a lot more room to grow. "It was a confidence booster but obviously we want more." — Todd D. Burlage Five Questions With … NOTRE DAME SENIOR SAFETY XAVIER WATTS Watts' total of 39 tackles in 2022 ranked eighth on the team and was tied for second among all Irish defensive backs. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER NC State Is The Game To Worry About By Todd D. Burlage There is much at stake and plenty to overcome when Notre Dame travels to Raleigh, N.C., for its first true road game of the season against NC State, a dangerous opponent. The good news is that Notre Dame takes a 28-game regular-season winning streak against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents into this game, a streak that dates back to a loss at No. 7 Miami in 2017. The bad news is that NC State is a talented and confident foe with a growing program profile under veteran head coach Dave Doeren. The Wolfpack went 8-5 last season, including a 6-1 mark at home. The program has also won at least eight games in three straight seasons and it has lost only two of its last 20 games at Carter-Finley Stadium since 2020. NC State went out during the offseason and pulled former standout Virginia quarterback Brennan Armstrong from the transfer portal to reunite with his former offensive coordinator with the Cavaliers, Robert Anae. Under Anae in 2021, Armstrong threw for 4,449 yards with 31 touchdowns in only 11 games. All six of Notre Dame's ACC opponents won at least eight games in 2022, so staying upset free and keeping its 28-game winning streak intact against the league will be challenging this season. Speaking of upsets, the contest at NC State provides a difficult setting and the perfect recipe for one that Notre Dame best be aware of. Duke Brings Back Dangerous Offense By Jack Soble Duke was one of the better offensive teams in the ACC this past season, and everyone who made that happen returned for 2023. Mike Elko, Notre Dame's defensive coordinator in 2017, got his first head coaching opportunity with the Blue Devils in 2022. Year 1 couldn't have gone much better than it did. Coming off a 3-9 cam- paign in 2021, Duke stunned college football last season, going 9-4 with the No. 4 offense in the conference. The Blue Devils are led by Riley Leonard, a junior quarterback who threw for nearly 3,000 yards and 20 touchdowns in his first season at the helm. Leonard is a big man at 6-foot-4, 212 pounds, but don't let that fool you — he ran for 699 yards and scored 13 times on the ground, too. He's the real deal. Duke's offensive coordinator, Kevin Johns, returned for 2023, as did each of Leonard's many weapons. The Blue Devils' top four receivers are all back. Defensively, Duke was weaker, particularly against the pass. But defenses can be turned around quickly. Duke added a new defensive coordinator in Tyler Santucci from Texas A&M and a pair of transfer portal additions in defensive backs Al Blades Jr. (Miami) and Myles Jones (Texas A&M), both of whom are expected to make an impact for the Blue Devils. Notre Dame visits Duke Sept. 30, one week after the Ohio State game. The Blue Devils are not the Buckeyes, but they'll beat the Irish if Notre Dame isn't careful. Point ✦ Counterpoint: WHICH GAME SHOULD HAVE NOTRE DAME ON UPSET ALERT?