Notre Dame landed one of the top quarterbacks on the transfer market this winter and restocked its receiver room with proven contributors, yet the Irish defense should again be the defining factor of the season in 2024. With unanimous All-American senior safety Xavier Watt’s Saturday evening decision to return for his final season of eligibility, Notre Dame will now return six veteran defensive starters including two All-Americans and four names of note up the middle of the defense.
Add in Duke defensive end RJ Oben and Arizona State defensive back Jordan Clark, and the Irish will have a veteran defense with a few proven stars, along with a young linebacker corps that flashed athleticism in 2023.
But mostly, Notre Dame will have a unanimous All-American manning the back line of the defense in Watts, who wreaked havoc all this season, turning seven interceptions and a fumble recovery into 152 return yards and a touchdown.
Not within Watts’s stat line but perhaps the best way to describe his impact this season, all seven of his interception returns put the Irish in scoring range, getting within the plus-40-yard line on all seven and inside the 15-yard-line on four of them, including a pair to the 2-yard line. Those directly created 41 Notre Dame points.
Of course, Watts also made 52 tackles with 2.5 for loss and added four more pass breakups for good measure. He led the Irish defense with five tackles in Friday’s 40-8 victory in the Sun Bowl against No. 19 Oregon State. Of the defenders who played in the bowl game, Notre Dame will return all but three starters.
More precisely, Watts’s return means the Irish welcome back three of their top-four tackles this season, one at each level of the defense.
With his return, the Irish welcome back four of their top-seven tacklers this season with at least one at each level of the defense. Presuming defensive coordinator Al Golden remains in South Bend, a third year in the same defensive system will only underscore this veteran group’s effectiveness. Notre Dame has not enjoyed the luxury of a third year in the same defensive system since Clark Lea’s third year as defensive coordinator in 2020.
It was not a coincidence that the Irish reached the College Football Playoff that season with a defense that gave up 19.7 points per game (No. 14 in the country), 343.6 yards per game (No. 25) and touchdowns on just 53.3 percent of opposing red-zone possessions (No. 23).
Run it back ☘️ pic.twitter.com/0wfRCCAl62
— Xavier Watts (@xavierwatts6) December 30, 2023
Returning defensive starters in 2024:
Defensive tackle Rylie Mills (47 tackles in 2023 with 5.5 for loss including 2.5 sacks and two fumble recoveries)
Defensive tackle and All-American Howard Cross (66 tackles with seven for loss including two sacks and two forced fumbles)
Defensive end Jordan Botelho (32 tackles with 4.5 for loss including four sacks)
Linebacker Jack Kiser (62 tackles with 1.5 sacks, one interception and one forced fumble)
Cornerback and 2023 preseason All-American Benjamin Morrison (31 tackles with 3.5 for loss, three interceptions and 10 pass breakups)
Safety and unanimous All-American Xavier Watts (52 tackles with three for loss, seven interceptions and four pass breakups)