Irish Breakdown

All-Time Notre Dame Great Pens Emotional Farewell to Fighting Irish

Few to wear the blue and gold have ever had as strong of college career as Xavier Watts
Nick Shepkowski|
Oct 19, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish safety Xavier Watts (0) celebrates after an interception against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the fourth quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Oct 19, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish safety Xavier Watts (0) celebrates after an interception against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the fourth quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

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With the 2024-25 football season officially over it means its time to turn the page next year for Notre Dame.

That's just the way things go as several players wore the blue and gold this past Monday for the final times in their football careers. Many of those players will be celebrated for years to come by Notre Dame fans but it's hard to imagine anyone being moreso than safety Xavier Watts.

Watts of course won the Nagurski Award as the nation's top defender in 2023, but was perhaps even better in 2024.

The ball hawking safety recorded 13 interceptions over the past two seasons while recording 134 tackles in that time.

In addition to winning the Nagurski Award for the 2023 season, Watts was also named an All-American each of the past two years. His highlights show just how much of a playmaker he was for Notre Dame's defense and show the hole his departure will leave.

On Friday, Watts penned a heartful farewell to the Notre Dame community as his eligibility is up and he's on to the NFL.

Check it out below.

Watts goes down as one of the best defenders to ever play at Notre Dame and despite not receiving huge NFL draft grades, I would guess it's only a matter of time before he significantly outperforms his current draft projections.

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Nick Shepkowski
NICK SHEPKOWSKI

Managing Editor for Notre Dame On SI. Started covering Chicago sports teams for WSCR the Score, and over the years worked with CBS Radio, Audacy, NBC Sports, and FOX Sports as a contributor before running the Notre Dame wire site for USA TODAY.

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