Blue & Gold Illustrated: 2012 Notre Dame Football Preview
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BLUE & GOLD ILLUSTRATED 2017 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ✦ 113 Unshaken Faith Helping keep the spirits up for Watkins native throughout last season was his father Bobby Watkins Sr., a former second-round NFL Draft pick who intercepted 20 passes while with the Detroit Lions from 1982-88, and now a policeman in the Dallas area. "I talked to my dad about everything, my goals and aspirations," said Watkins, whose offer list included Alabama and Florida State, projected to be top College Football Playoff candidates this year despite meeting the first weekend of the season. "Staying positive was a major key, and put my faith in God. "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. Every time I go out there I have fun." Part of the fun has been not having to do nearly as much thinking in the defensive alignments under Elko. "The defense is more natural where you're just trying to make a play," Watkins said. "The scheme is very player friendly. … Last year you saw some guys trying to strain, trying to do too much, but now it's more natural." Following Brian VanGorder's firing after the 38-35 loss to Duke dropped Notre Dame to 1-3, the Irish defense was streamlined significantly, partly because the secondary was so replete with neophytes. With the experience gained last year by all the freshmen, Lyght believes the defense can find a happy medium between vanilla and complex under Elko. In nickel packages, Love and Crawford could be top options there, but Watkins is projected to remain a mainstay at his spot. "We can get to the NFL-type matchups that we want," Lyght said. "On third down, no matter how they deploy themselves due to personnel or positioning on the field, we'll be able to get the matchups that are favorable to us so we can win on third down and make sure we keep op- ponents under 35 percent [the Irish defense was at a 39.0-percent third down conversion rate last year for 60th in the country], which will give us a greater chance of winning ball games." Ranked as the No. 186 player overall na- tionally by Rivals when he signed with Notre Dame in 2014, Watkins never felt like he couldn't return to a starting role at corner despite the freshman invasion there in 2016. "As far as my confidence, I always felt like I was the best corner that we had," Wat- kins said. "Even when I got here as a fresh- man, I always felt like I was the best. "This spring was just about technique, get- ting a grasp of the terminology and scheme, and competing." Sometimes the last (in career starts) just might be first in a new lineup. ✦ Turn The Corner? In the 15-year stretch beginning with the 1988 national title and through the very temporary "Return To Glory" 10-3 season in 2002, Notre Dame experienced its Golden Age at cornerback. In those 15 seasons, the Fighting Irish produced nine corners who were drafted within the first five rounds of the NFL Draft — most notably current cornerbacks coach Todd Lyght and Tom Carter in the first round, plus Rod Smith and Bobby Taylor in the second round, the latter as a junior. Lyght and Taylor would go on to become Pro Bowl players. That stretch doesn't even include sixth-round pick Shawn Wooden, who would play 10 seasons in the NFL. In 2002, the corner duo was comprised of consensus first-team All-American Shane Walton and third- team All-American Vontez Duff. It was the first time in school history two Notre Dame corners were both named Associated Press All-Americans. However, in the 14 seasons since 2003, Notre Dane has had only five cornerbacks selected by the NFL — with KeiVarae Russell the lone one in the first five rounds (third round in 2016). Even this past spring, senior Cole Luke, who had an exceptional sophomore year in 2014 while playing against many of the na- tion's top receivers, did not get selected. In 2017, senior Nick Watkins is the dark horse figure to elevate Notre Dame's corner market. — Lou Somogyi Watkins is the lone senior in the defensive backfield, but ranks just fifth in career starts at cornerback with only one (against Ohio State in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl). PHOTO BY COREY BODDEN