Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 111 BY LOU SOMOGYI T his spring, there were two primary parts to Notre Dame's 2017 defensive backfield. The first is what is known as "Vet- eran Youth." Out of necessity from signifi- cant attrition, five different current sopho- mores combined for 24 starts as freshmen, led by safety Devin Studstill's nine and cor- nerback Julian Love's eight. The second part is known as senior corner- back Nick Watkins, the paradoxical figure on the back end of the defense. On a unit laden with youth and inexperience, Watkins is the graybeard — yet he is also even more of a greenhorn than many of the underclassmen. A year ago at this time, Watkins could not have envisioned that on Notre Dame's 2017 spring roster he would be fifth in most career starts among the five cur- rent scholarship cor- nerbacks. Had junior Nick Coleman not moved to Stud safety — where he was ahead of Studstill this spring — Watkins would be sixth. The lone Notre Dame cornerback re- cruit in 2014, Watkins is the sole senior in the defensive backfield this year, although classmate Drue Tranquill could always move back to safety if needed after shifting to the hybrid linebacker/safety rover position in new defensive coordinator Mike Elko's alignment. After receiving his initial start in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl because of injuries to KeiVarae Russell and Devin Butler, and earning high marks for his aggressive and h o l d i n g - h i s - o w n play in the loss to Ohio State, Watkins was in line to start opposite senior Cole Luke at cornerback last fall. Unfortunately, Watkins' fractured left humerus (the upper arm bone between the shoulder and the elbow) required surgery last April 2. The prognosis was positive that he would be available by August. When the bone didn't heal to the satisfac- tion of Notre Dame's medical staff, bone marrow was inserted into the injury to stimu- late the healing. The hope was that he would be available by game three, versus Michigan State. When that also didn't occur, there was no recourse but to put in new hardware to help shape the bone and take a medical red- shirt during his junior campaign. It left a conspicuous six-inch surgical scar on the back of his left arm, and ostensibly some limbo about his football future. In Watkins' place, a Notre Dame record three true freshman corners/nickels received multiple starts: Love (eight), Donte Vaughn (four) and Tony Pride Jr. (three). A fourth player, Shaun Crawford, medi- cally redshirted as a 2015 freshman, started the first two games before an Achilles injury shelved him the remainder of the season. Watkins And Wimbush Consequently, Watkins might be to Notre Dame's 2017 defense what junior quarterback Brandon Wimbush is to the offense. Both happen to don the same jersey number — lucky No. 7, hopefully — af- ter switching from 12 (Wimbush) and 21 (Watkins). Both redshirted in 2016, although for dif- ferent reasons. Wimbush's was voluntarily while the DeShone Kizer/Malik Zaire drama at quarterback played out and eventually led to different destinations for each this winter (Kizer to the NFL and Zaire to the University of Florida). Watkins had to take his redshirt route medically. Both "W's" now are being called upon to go from non-factor in 2016 to a po- tential game changer in 2017 at their re- spective positions to potentially help lead Notre Dame to far more wins — the fore- most "W." Watkins might be fifth, or dead last, among the Irish corners in most career starts, but the 6-0½, 203-pound native from DeSoto, Texas, asserted his presence with a spring in which he consistently showed up as the top playmaker in the secondary. He showcased the length and reach that enabled him to match up with the stable of tall receivers, such as 6-5 Equanimeous St. Brown plus 6-4 Miles Boykin and Chase Claypool. Watkins also showed the fluidity to handle smaller, q u i c k e r a t h l e t e s such as C.J. Sanders and Chris Finke. He demonstrated the acumen to read the quarterback's coverage, but also the physicality to cover the perim- eter run and screen game. His coverage skills were a high- light in the defen- sive backfield. "He's going to be a dominant player for us in the future," cornerbacks coach Todd Lyght said. Ready or not, the future has to be now for Watkins. "He's stepped forward in a leadership role," Lyght added. "He's being much more vocal, challenging his teammates to get bet- ter. His consistency has gotten a lot better, too." Head coach Brian Kelly echoed those im- pressions of Watkins' efforts this spring, which culminated in the spring game with four solo tackles, breaking up a post throw to Boykin downfield and intercepting a Wimbush pass at the goal line for his winning Gold team. "Nick is playing with a lot of confi- dence," Kelly said. "He's long, he's very coachable and a great kid. I really like the way he's competing out there. The season off in a lot of ways was disappointing, but he benefitted greatly from that year to see it, to learn. "He's had a really terrific offseason in the weight room, and you can see his transition out of his break, breaking on the ball, play- ing physical at the line of scrimmage. … He really gives us a presence out there that we're starting to feel." PROVING A PRESENCE Sidelined in 2016, senior Nick Watkins is striving to make a difference in the Notre Dame defensive backfield Expected to start in 2016 after a strong effort in the Fiesta Bowl loss to Ohio State, Watkins missed the entire season while trying to recover from a broken humerus (the bone between the elbow and the shoulder). PHOTO BY COREY BODDEN "I thought I was poised for a breakout year [in 2016]. … It's just something I had to go through, and I feel like a better player, a better person for it. It just taught me to not take anything for granted." WATKINS