Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/259072
BY TOM LOY G oing into the state of Texas and getting a prospect to commit to Notre Dame is not an easy task. When the prospect has offers from Texas, Texas A&M, Oklahoma and Oklahoma State, the task gets even more difficult. Dallas Bishop Dunne cornerback Nick Watkins took an official visit to South Bend Oct. 19 to watch Notre Dame take on USC. That weekend, Watkins had no plans on committing to the Irish, but he knew that he would end up committed if the visit went well. On the final day of his visit, he sat down with head coach Brian Kelly, and he left knowing where he would be signing come February. "I was sitting across from Coach Kelly and I could see how excited he was getting while he was talking to me," the 6-1, 190-pound defensive back said. "He was getting a little red in the face and he just kept moving his hands and just seemed to get excited talking to me about my game and how I fit in here and how he thinks I could be great. "I pretty much knew I was coming to Notre Dame after that talk on my visit. I really liked them before that, and I felt like I could do great there, and that talk with Kelly kind of pumped me up. He knew a lot about my game and that impressed me, and I just liked his attitude and how he's not boring and he made me real comfortable and made this a pretty easy decision for me." Watkins' primary recruiter at Notre Dame was cornerbacks coach Kerry Cooks. His honest, laid-back approach to recruiting was a big plus for the four- star defensive back. "Coach Cooks is one of the best people I've ever met," he said. "I'm not even talking about recruiters or coaches. I'm talking about just people. He's real cool with me, is real with me and my family and just treats me good. Plus, he's my position coach. That's perfect. I know he'll get the best out of me, and if I want to be great, he'll push me to be great." Watkins chose Notre Dame over some Talk With Brian Kelly Makes Decision Easy For Nick Watkins Watkins is ranked as a four-star prospect, the No. 23 cornerback nationally and the No. 30 player in Texas by 247Sports. PHOTO COURTESY 247SPORTS