Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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BLUEGOLDONLINE.COM NOV. 18, 2023 15 away. Within 12 to 48 hours after liter- ally living it, they have to live it again in the film room. After Notre Dame's 17-14 loss to Ohio State, that could not have been a pleasant place. You can talk about 10 men on the field or a would-be interception slip- ping through DJ Brown's fingertips. But for Watts, the focal point was the only other touchdown Ohio State scored in addition to the one that came with one second left with 10 players on the field for the Notre Dame defense. Watts was one of only a couple Notre Dame players who had a chance to tackle Buckeyes running back TreVeyon Henderson on his 61-yard touchdown. He had a decent angle but completely whiffed. All he could do was stare at the back of Henderson's jersey and hope someone else in green ran him down. Nobody did. Watts still sometimes sees No. 32 in red racing into the end zone in his drift- ing thoughts. "I obviously really could have got him down," he said. "I was just kind of being hesitant on that tackle." Watts wouldn't have been on an is- land if two Notre Dame linebackers didn't lose contain. It wasn't all his fault Henderson made it a two-score game early in the second half. But the fierc- est of competitors don't assign outward blame. They seek inward improvement. And man, oh, man, has there been a lot of that from Watts since then. He played possessed in Notre Dame's 48-20 throttling of USC. He became the first player to ever intercept Tro- jans quarterback Caleb Williams twice in one game. The very next time Notre Dame kicked off after a bye week, he had two more interceptions against Pitt. Through Week 9, nobody in college football had more picks than Watts' 6. Just more than a year ago Notre Dame didn't know if they had a wide receiver or a defensive back in Watts. He was somewhere in the middle, buried deep down the depth chart on both sides of the ball. Now he's an every-game starter in a stout Irish secondary, and he's one of the most productive defensive backs in the country. That makes those daydreams about Sept. 23 a little easier to tolerate. He can't entirely erase what happened against Ohio State. Nobody at Notre Dame can. Everyone involved has some personal demon attached to that game that they'll never fully shake. But if Watts continues on the path he's paved, he'll have done everything he can to right any wrongs. "Just trying to take it to the next level," he said. A lot of times, there aren't many more levels a senior can take it to. But like Chris Tyree finding new life switch- ing from running back to wide receiver, Watts was reborn this year as a safety. It's his first year as a full-time starter. He's getting better with each game in a manner that's generally reserved for underclassmen. "What you're seeing now with his study habits and his practice habits, learning the details of the position is what is giving him a chance to truly have success," head coach Marcus Freeman said. "He's now in the right position and able to capitalize on those opportunities that come his way through study, prep- aration or just making a play. Some- times, you just make a play." That's something Watts has never been shy to do. "I'm an aggressive type of player," he said. "I think I have good instincts so I just know when the quarterback's going to launch it. He's going to pick a side, I'm going to take off and just go for it." That decisiveness is what coaches all over look for. Notre Dame defensive co- ordinator Al Golden has coached a lot of football players. He knows it when he sees it. And he definitely sees it in Watts, missed tackle versus OSU be darned. That play does not define him. Watch just a couple series of Notre Dame on defense and you'll find out he's actu- ally one of the toughest tacklers on the team. He's more than an interception machine. He's the complete package. "He's strong, he's sudden and he's a competitor," Golden said. "I think it means something to him. The physical- ity that he's showing in tackles right now says a lot about his makeup. Says a lot about the player himself." ✦ Watts, a senior safety, led the FBS with 6 interceptions through Week 9. PHOTO BY CHAD WEAVER "He's strong, he's sudden and he's a competitor. I think it means something to him. The physicality that he's showing in tackles right now says a lot about his makeup. Says a lot about the player himself." NOTRE DAME DEFENSIVE COORDINATOR AL GOLDEN ON WATTS