iceshack149

Prospect Profiles


Courtney Watson
Position: Inside/Outside Linebacker
College: Notre Dame
Height: 6-1
Weight: 237


OVERVIEW
Player with outstanding character, both on and off the field … Heavily involved in his community, Watson became only the second Notre Dame player (Grant Irons) to earn AFC Good Works Team accolades … A three-year starter at inside linebacker, his quickness and range could see him shift to weakside outside linebacker at the pro level … A finalist in 2002 and a semi-finalist in 2003 for the Butkus Award, Watson was called, \"everything you would want in a leader,\" by head coach Tyrone Willingham … Seriously considered entering the 2003 NFL Draft, but opted to return to the school for his final season, hoping to be involved in the team\'s rebuilding under Willingham … Started his final 32 games, seeing action in 43 contests … Finished with 294 tackles (163 solos), 8½ sacks for minus-62 yards, 39 stops for losses of 151 yards, a fumble recovery, a forced fumble, eight pass deflections and seven interceptions for 202 yards in returns, including two touchdowns … Only Allen Rossum (3, 1994-97), Bobby Leopold (3, 1976-79) and Tom Schoen (3, 1965-67) had more interception returns for touchdowns in school history … His 202 return yards are the most by an Irish defender since Steve Lawrence totaled 233 yards (1983-86) … Only Nick Rassas (31.4 avg., 1963-65) had a higher interception return average in Irish annals.
ANALYSIS
Positives: Has a short, thick frame with a well-developed chest, broad shoulders, good arm muscle definition, good bubble, thick thighs and defined calves … Very productive defender with above-average toughness … Shows instinctive read and react skills, as he sees blocking schemes and moves quickly to the ball … Will step up and take on the offensive guard or lead back with force to stack the inside run … Uses his hands well to play off blocks … Quick in pursuit, showing the playing speed to recover when beaten … Has above-average ease-of-movement agility in his lateral pursuit … Hard hitter who is better as a drag-down tackler than one who wraps … Can lock on and stay on the hips of tight ends and backs operating in the short-area passing game … Adequate in his pass drops working in the zone (when dropping inside and in the short area) … Has natural hands going for the interception and a sudden burst to gain long yardage on the return … Adequate blitzer who easily moves through trash and traffic to get outside.
Negatives: Quick to diagnose plays, but needs to stay in control, as he tends to over-run plays, especially when coming on the back side pursuit … Strong to stack and shed, but would be better if he uses his natural leverage … Produces a lot of arm and drag-down tackles and needs to do a better job of staying low in his pads to stalk, wrap and secure … May not have the pass-drop agility to be effective outside in a Cover-2 defense, as he appears a little stiff in the hips and is tight in his turn working the zone … Better blitzer off the edge than coming inside, but lacks an array of moves when his initial charge is defeated (depends on quickness and speed rather than pass rush moves).

http://www.nfl.com/draft/profiles/courtney_watson

[Edited on 4/25/2004 by iceshack149]

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