Ryan Watts: DB · Texas · #6.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Ryan Watts
Moves between deep coverage and the slot. Played for two head coaches across four seasons and two programs. One game to point at: 8 tackles against Kansas State — Week 10, 2023.
Play style
Moves between deep coverage and the slot — the modern positionless DB.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
37 tackles. 3 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 1 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
Yahoo Sports Oct 31
Saturday Down South Oct 25Yahoo Sports Oct 20Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Texas | 37 | 30 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 3 | -- |
| 2022 | Texas | 51 | 35 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 3 | 1 |
| 2021 | Ohio State | 6 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | 2 |
| 2020 | Ohio State | 5 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- |
| Career | 99 | 75 | 5.0 | 1.0 | 6 | 3 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2023 season · 10 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 2 | W 34-24@ No. 3 Alabama | 4 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 3 | W 31-10vs Wyoming | 6 | 6 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 4 | W 38-6@ Baylor | 4 | 4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 40-14vs No. 24 Kansas | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 9 | W 35-6vs BYU | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | |
| Wk 10 | W 33-30vs No. 25 Kansas State | 8 | 7 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 1 | Season-high 8 tackles |
| Wk 11 | W 29-26@ TCU | 4 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 12 | W 26-16@ Iowa State | 2 | 2 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 13 | W 57-7vs Texas Tech | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
 Bowl | L 31-37vs No. 2 Washington | 6 | 5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 37 | 30 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 3 |
Week 10 · 2023
W 33-30
vs Kansas State
8 tackles · 1 pass breakup · 7 solo tackles
Edged out Kansas State at home in a shootout.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
8%3 pass breakupsTackle volume
37tackles this seasonTFL rate
3%1 TFL37 tackles · 1 for loss · 3 pass breakups.
Splits · Per-game
2023 season · 10 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 3.4 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
| Road4g | 3.5 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-75g | 4.4 | 0.2 | 0.0 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+5g | 3.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.4 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Steve Sarkisian
Pass share
47.8%
474 pass / 518 run
Plays / game
70.9
14 games
Team sack rate
5.3%
488 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Balanced.
Player standing · 2023
About as many tackles a game as a typical FBS defensive back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Former four-star. Now #394 at the position.
How it ended
Four seasons, at Ohio State and Texas, 99 tackles — drafted at #195 overall by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Four or fewer games in the first season, then ten or more.
The role got bigger.
Coaching lineage · 2020–2023
2 coachesPlayed for 2 head coaches at 2 schools: Ryan Day and Steve Sarkisian.
Next stop · NFL
Pittsburgh SteelersEntering 3rd NFL season
Pittsburgh SteelersEntering 3rd NFL season
