Xavier Watts
Xavier Watts
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away. Xavier Watts has played for two head coaches in four seasons at Notre Dame. Two straight seasons of it now: All-America (AFCA) again in 2024. The receipt on tape: 8 tackles against Northern Illinois, Week 2, 2024.
Low coverage — composed from the verified record.
- positional archetype classification
- head-coach lineage
- recognition record
- game log
How it ended
Four seasons at Notre Dame, 181 tackles, a Unanimous All-American season (2023) — drafted at #96 overall by Atlanta.
Career Arc
Trophy Case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-AMERICA · CONSENSUS
Consensus AA (2024)
10 first-team selectors
POSITION AWARDS
Nagurski
2023 season
Coaching Lineage · 2021–2024
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Brian Kelly → Marcus Freeman. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
Where He Ended Up · NFL
AtlantaEntering 2nd NFL season
2025 snapshot
Season context · Team result + system
Splits & context
Supporting Cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Marcus Freeman
Awards
Player Standing · 17 rungs
Tier 4 · EliteR13 · Consensus All-American
Consensus All-American. Recognized by a majority of the selectors.
Recognition
Production
Trophy Case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-AMERICA · CONSENSUS
Consensus AA (2024)
10 first-team selectors
POSITION AWARDS
Nagurski
2023 season
Career stats
| Season | Team | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Notre Dame | 83 | 53 | 3.5 | 0.0 | 9 | 6 | -- |
| 2023 | Notre Dame | 47 | 28 | 3.0 | 0.5 | 3 | 7 | -- |
| 2022 | Notre Dame | 36 | 22 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 2 | -- | -- |
| 2021 | Notre Dame | 15 | 11 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -- | -- | -- |
| Career | 181 | 114 | 8.5 | 1.5 | 14 | 13 | -- |
How he plays
Play style
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away.
CFB Index positional classification
DNA match
Player DNA
Rover
Hits like a linebacker and still takes the ball away.
His 2024 production profile sits closest to Yusuf Corker’s 2021 season.
Matches Yusuf on
Differs from Yusuf on
Not enough data yet for this comparison.
As a senior, his production profile tracks closest to Sanoussi Kane's senior season at Purdue (2023).
Matches Sanoussi on