Newsstand: Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts named 2024 The Athletic All-American
Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts was named an All-American by The Athletic on Wednesday. The following charts display every offensive and defensive player he shared that honor with, including a blurb from The Athletic on Watts below them.
First Team Offense
| Pos. | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| QB | Cam Ward | Miami |
| RB | Ashton Jeanty | Boise State |
| RB | Cam Skattebo | Arizona State |
| WR | Tetairoa McMillan | Arizona |
| WR | Xavier Restrepo | Miami |
| TE | Tyler Warren | Penn State |
| OL | Kelvin Banks Jr. | Texas |
| OL | Will Campbell | LSU |
| OL | Wyatt Milum | West Virginia |
| OL | Josh Conerly Jr. | Oregon |
| C | Seth McLaughlin | Ohio State |
First Team Defense
| Pos. | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| DE | Abdul Carter | Penn State |
| DE | Kyle Kennard | South Carolina |
| DT | Mason Graham | Michigan |
| DT | Walter Nolen | Ole Miss |
| LB | Anthony Hill Jr. | Texas |
| LB | Jay Higgins | Iowa |
| LB | Shaun Dolac | Buffalo |
| CB | Jahdae Barron | Texas |
| CB | Nohl Williams | California |
| S | Xavier Watts | Notre Dame |
| S | Caleb Downs | Ohio State |
Second Team
| OFFENSE | ||
| QB | Dillon Gabriel | Oregon |
| RB | Kaleb Johnson | Iowa |
| RB | Dylan Sampson | Tennessee |
| WR | Nick Nash | San Jose State |
| WR | Jayden Higgins | Iowa State |
| TE | Harold Fannin Jr. | Bowling Green |
| OL | Aireontae Ersery | Minnesota |
| OL | Kage Casey | Boise State |
| OL | Tyler Booker | Alabama |
| OL | Willie Lampkin | North Carolina |
| C | Cooper Mays | Tennessee |
| DEFENSE | ||
| DE | Donovan Ezeiruaku | Boston College |
| DE | Mikail Kamara | Indiana |
| DT | Derrick Harmon | Oregon |
| LB | Danny Stutsman | Oklahoma |
| LB | Kyle Louis | Pittsburgh |
| LB | Jihaad Campbell | Alabama |
| LB | Jackson Woodard | UNLV |
| CB | D’Angelo Ponds | Indiana |
| CB | Chandler Rivers | Duke |
| S | Malaki Starks | Georgia |
| S | Nick Emmanwori | South Carolina |
The Athletic: Watts has earned All-America recognition for the second year in a row as a ball-hawking weapon in the secondary for the nation’s top pass efficiency defense. He has 49 tackles, nine pass breakups, a forced fumble and five interceptions, including a 100-yard pick six to break open the Irish’s win over USC.
Notre Dame tweets of the day
College GameDay is coming to South Bend.
Fighting Irish defensive coordinator Al Golden is still up for the Broyles Award. He made the final cut.
Blue & Gold Illustrated’s College Football Playoff preview magazine is here.
Notre Dame quote of the day
“This is something that women’s basketball fans look forward to, the Notre Dame-UConn matchup. We get a chance to see them early, see where we’re at. Where they are right now? No. 2 in the country, playing really elite basketball. It’s a great opportunity for us.”
— Fighting Irish women’s basketball coach Niele Ivey on ND’s game Thursday vs. UConn
Blue & Gold headlines of the day
• Notre Dame HC Marcus Freeman named Coach of the Year finalist
• Comparing starters: Who has the defensive recruiting edge between Indiana, Notre Dame
• Who decommitted from Notre Dame and where did they sign?
• Notre Dame football 2024 regular-season superlatives
• Lucky Charms: Top-100 overall WR recruit includes Notre Dame in top six
• Instant takeaways: Notre Dame men’s basketball dispatches Dartmouth
