Marcus Freeman says one Notre Dame football defender has taken 'giant leap'

When talking about why the Notre Dame football team will make the playoffs this year, there are all kinds of players fans could point to. There's the improvement of Riley Leonard throughout the season. There's the explosion of Jeremiyah Love. And then there's all those studs on defense.

When looking at players that have had a significant impact on Al Golden's unit, one stands out. Especially for how he's transformed his game not just on the field but as a leader. Xavier Watts went from a borderline contributor at wide receiver to one of the best safeties in the game, in a very short period of time.

Earlier this week, Notre Dame football head coach Marcus Freeman talked about how impressed he is by Watts. The defender's growth was a big part of what he loved about one of his team's captains.

Notre Dame football defender gets rave reviews from Marcus Freeman

"Yeah, I think he's a guy that's just continuing to improve his skill set, right?" Freeman told the media during his Thursday Zoom call.  "He has all the talent in the world now.  He's improving at his skill set as a safety, in terms of tracking the ball, in terms of, you know, making tackles and those type of things."

"The thing I love about X the most and that he's really improved at is his vocal communication.  Like, he's a leader.  He is a problem solver.  He gets guys lined up.  You see him all the time making checks, making calls, and that's the area that I think he's made the biggest jump at is really being a problem solver on the field."

"He's able to really get everybody on the same page, and that's where he's really taken a huge leap."

The Notre Dame football team needs Xavier Watts to continue to grow as the 2024 season goes on (his last in South Bend). With a playoff push on the horizon, the Fighting Irish will need one of the game's best safeties to be even better from here one out.