Notre Dame’s defense is expected to do well in the 2024 season.
Safety Xavier Watts, an All-American and the current Bronko Nagurski Award winner, is a major reason for the high expectations.
Watts recorded 47 tackles and led the nation with seven interceptions last year, including two against former Heisman Trophy winner Caleb Williams, and the Nebraska native is on almost every preseason award watch list as he enters his senior year in South Bend.
Watts, a 2024 Notre Dame captain, has accepted the honor but understands it won’t mean much in August.
“It’s really cool because we’ve been here 5-6 years and all had to wait our time, grind for three years before we got on the field, so all that recognition in year 4-5, your last two years to be on national preseason lists is really rewarding,” Watt said of Notre Dame’s several names in the national headlines. “We can’t focus too much on it. This is a preseason watch list. It doesn’t matter unless you make the final list. “I was not on any preseason watch lists last year.”
It would be difficult to replicate 2023’s pure production, but Watts isn’t concerned because his primary goal is to improve as a football player, which begins with becoming a successful communicator.
“There’s a lot to think about presnap,” Watts said. “That’s one of the things I’m working to improve even more. Receiving the call and conveying it to the remaining defensive backs, possibly the linebackers. Making our calls, doing our checks, and possibly looking at the formations in the future. What is the offender attempting to do to us? Put what we see on film and in the field, and try to express what they want to achieve with routes and other details.”
Few would have faulted him if he had entered the NFL following last season.
Watts received his draft grade and then decided to return to school because he believed there was more he could do to grow as a player.
“Some people really take that grade to heart,” Watts stated. “It might make them play worse or better. You must detach and not pay much attention to it.
“I didn’t think about coming back until I spoke with the coaches and they started telling me other things. I honestly wasn’t thinking about it.”
Defensive coordinator Al Golden may be the best person to assist Watts prepare at the next level, as he will give his All-American contender a lot of responsibility this fall.
During preseason camp, Golden specifically challenged Watts and cornerback Benjamin Morrison to do more.
“You’re not talking about assignments,” Golden responded. “You are discussing the finite approach for completing the assignment. Whereas if you have Leonard Moore or someone who hasn’t played much. You’re attempting to get them in the correct position so that you may act as a defense. In contrast, some guys think at a higher level. “Coach, if they do this, should we do this?” Wow, it was wonderful. What you did last time was an excellent answer, but next time consider doing it this way. “That’s what we mean.”
And, sure, Golden is allowing his best players to lead the defense and take ownership of the defensive side of the ball, which has resulted in the staff having to be sharp every time they go on the field.
“They want that,” Golden explained. “They wake up every day expecting it. Symbiosis exists because the workforce is motivated by it. The crew needs to be on their game. That’s what motivates us, since they’ll know. Don’t deceive the troops. They’ll notice if you’re not telling them what they need to know.”
Notre Dame’s season begins in just over a week, and Watts is eager to travel to College Station.
“I’m just excited to do even more and get even better,” Watts told me. “I believe the team we’ve assembled is one of the most dynamic and brilliant I’ve ever worked with. I’m excited to see what we can accomplish.”
