Back home in Texas, 'everything's better' for Longhorn corner Ryan Watts

There’s still a little Buckeye in Ryan Watts.

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The 6-foot-3, 206-pound Longhorn cornerback spent two seasons in Columbus, Ohio playing for Ohio State. The experience of wearing scarlet and gray still has him referring to Michigan as “that school up north.”

But Ohio is up north, too, at least as it pertains to Watts’ hometown of Little Elm in the Dallas area. Moving a flight away from his family to play football seemed like the right decision at first, but over time he missed his mom, dad, and brother more and more.

“I didn’t really think about that until I got there and how it started playing out over the years,” Watts said Monday.

On December 10 of last year, Watts decided he needed to move back home. He entered the transfer portal and sought a program in the Lone Star State so he could be closer to his family, who he speaks and prays with on a daily basis.

Luckily for Texas, head coach Steve Sarkisian and secondary coach Terry Joseph had a prior relationship with the Watts family, plus a need at corner. Sarkisian had communicated with Watts while he was at Alabama, while Joseph did the same as a member of the Notre Dame coaching staff. He committed to Texas 12 days after entering the portal.

“We knew Ryan was a highly competitive guy,” Sarkisian said Thursday. “We knew the skillset that he had. The fact that he wanted to come home I thought was a natural fit for him and a natural fit for us.”

Watts is now just a short drive from his family, who he said he gets to see every week. When he was in Columbus, he said his family only was able to make it to two games. That was something that affected his play on the field.

Since he’s closer to home and closer to those he loves, Watts is happier with everything about his life.

“Everything’s better,” Watts said. “Academics, on the field, off the field, everything’s better just being able to see my family in person.”

His improvement off the field was immediately evident, as he was named to the Big 12 commissioner’s honor roll during his first season in Austin. Previous connections to current players like linebacker Jaylan Ford, who likes to remind of his Frisco Lone Star victories over Watts’ Little Elm teams, helped him get used to life on the Forty Acres.

Watts’ on-field ability would have to wait to become visible to the public. After a strong spring and preseason camp, he earned the starting job and has been a key piece of the Longhorn defense during their 6-3 season.

This year, Watts has 37 tackles with 2.0 for loss, plus an interception along with three pass breakups. He’s provided steady play for the Longhorns at the boundary corner position, with an average grade of 72.1 across the season according to Pro Football Focus.

“Every game, I just try to hone into my technique,” Watts said. “I don’t want to do too much. When I just settle down and hone in on my technique, I tend to play a lot better and be able to lock down that side of the field and allow other players like (Jerrin Thompson) to play faster, and to help the defense overall.”

Watts is large compared to most other corners, making technique even more important. His high school coaches tried him at safety early in his career before they realized he could stick at corner. Watts’ physical and intangible gifts at the position received praise from Sarkisian, who said the junior’s versatility allows for the defense to utilize a variety of schemes.

“We can mix up some coverages because he’s a really good run defender,” Sarkisian said. “We saw that last week on a critical third down stop. Yet he can do some things with his length to try to minimize releases and do things at the point of attack.”

He helps in the pass game, too. Just ask quarterback Quinn Ewers, who often had to work against Watts when both were at Ohio State.

“He’s such a big corner,” Ewers said Monday. “He’s got really long arms, which makes windows a lot smaller.”

That length isn’t useful just in covering receivers, it’s useful in many different aspects.

“I think he brings a lot of things,” Ford said. “It allows us to play more aggressive. There’s a guy that we got that we can trust that if we want to put him on the island, go ahead. I think he loves the competition. He’s physical.”

His play on the field has been crucial to the Longhorn success this season, but the Longhorns have loftier goals than bowl eligibility. They want to contend for championships.

That’s something Watts is well aware of.

“I learned a lot about this team and the hurt they had from the past, and how much they want to change everything about this university and how much the Texas fans deserve a better output,” Watts said. “I have a lot of trust in this team. The confidence is still high for this team that we can get it done.”

His confidence will be needed this Saturday. For Texas to win, Watts and his teammates will need to have a strong showing to top the No. 4 TCU Horned Frogs.

It’s a task he’s ready for now more than ever, now that he’s closer to home.

“It’s going to be a great challenge to see what we can do as a team,” Watts said.