Xavier Watts (born November 22, 2001) is an American football safety for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
Early life and high school
Watts was born in Omaha, Nebraska and attended high school at Harry A. Burke. In high school, he hauled in 163 receptions for 2,978 yards and 36 touchdowns, while also rushing for 88 yards and a touchdown. On defense Watts notched 136 tackles with 7.5 being for a loss, 13 pass deflections, nine interceptions, and one touchdown. Watts was ranked as the number two prospect in the state of Nebraska in the 2019 class. Watts committed to play college football at the University of Notre Dame as a wide receiver.
College career
In his first season in the shortened 2020 season, Watts appeared in two games, recording no statistics. In the 2021 season, Watts switched to safety and totaled 15 tackles over five games. In week eleven of the 2022 season, Watts got his first career start against Navy where he recorded a career-high eight tackles. Two weeks later, he would set a new career high in tackles making nine tackles versus USC. Watts finished his 2022 season with 39 tackles with two being for a loss, a sack, and four pass deflections. In week two of the 2023 season, Watts recorded his first career interception in a win over NC State. In week five, Watts would record another big interception, as helped Notre Dame beat Duke. In week seven, Watts intercepted Caleb Williams on the first series of the game to help set up Notre Dame. Watts would finish his career performance with seven tackles, two interceptions, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and a touchdown, as he helped the Fighting Irish upset #10 USC.