Watson Has Impressive Debut
UHND.com - Frank Vitovitch
September 10, 2001

Lincoln, Nebraska (UHND.com) - Courtney Watson have a very impressive debut as the starting weak side linebacker and I am not just referring to the gaudy number of tackles he made, 18.  I am talking about Watson playing like a seasoned vet and getting his teammates to feed off his energy much like the man he replaced, Anthony Denman, did for the Notre Dame defense the last two years.

One memory of last night debacle sticks out in my mind as one of the few bright spots.  After the botched punt snap Nebraska had the ball deep in Notre Dame territory and could have went up 21-0. On second down, Crouch handed off to Diedrick and Courtney Watson came up and stopped him behind the line.  He jumped up from the play and was pumped up.  He then went back into the huddle and was smacking his teammates on the helmet to get them pumped up.  The defense, other than Watson, had not reacted much to the stop that Watson made so Courtney came back to the huddle and got them fired up.  On the next play the defense held strong and forced the field goal.

Watson a took a big step toward replacing Anthony Denman last night not only in performance but also in leadership.  The fact that he came back to the huddle and tried to wake up his teammates and get them going made a real impression on me.  Denman was the heart and soul of the defense last year and he left a big void when he graduated.  Watson now has to fill that void, and making plays like that and acting like he did last night will go a big way in getting his teammates to count on him as they did Denman last year.

We should not be very surprised though that Watson has filled in as nicely as he has.  Denman and Watson are both of the same mold.  Denman was 6-2, 235 last year.  Watson is 6-1, 233 this year and by his senior year its very believable that he will be around the 235 that Denman was at when he graduates.  Both were also former running backs in high school and came to Notre Dame as runners.  Both were then also moved to linebacker.  

Notre Dame is going to need to make a lot of big plays on defense this year and Watson is going to have to make his fair share as well.  The defense appears to be the strength of this team and Watson is in charge of relaying the plays to the rest of the defense.  He is gong to have to become a leader and has to gain the respect of his teammates in order to be successful and after one game it appears that he has done that.

Other Defensive Notes
Anthony Weaver has All American potential.  The guy was all over the field last night.  He sacked Crouch once, forced a fumble that gave the offense the ball in Nebraska territory, and was in the backfield constantly.  He fought off a double team on the sack he registered as well.  He did all of this against the strongest offensive line he will face all year which leaves a lot of room for optimism.

The secondary has to improve by next week when it will face a wide open attack.  Ron Isreal got beat badly on the touchdown pass and was burned all night long.  He looked good against the run but his coverage was weak.  Gerome Sapp needs to see some time this week against Purdue.  He came in very highly touted and as a junior he has yet to start.  Many people saw him taking over in his freshman year, but he has yet to start, the time is now.

Shane Walton played solidly at one cornerback position, but Vontez Duff or Jason Beckstrom needs to take over at the other spot.  Clifford Jefferson could have had an easy interception, but instead he grabbed the Nebraska receiver.  Not only did he miss an opportunity to get the pick and some momentum, he gave Nebraska a first down when Notre Dame desperately needed a stop.  The corners are going to be very important this week against Purdue's wide open attack, and it is clear that Jefferson is not the answer at corner.