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Notre Dame Football: Cornerback Nick Watkins Will Seek A Graduate Transfer

The quest for 85 gets another dose.

By Joshua Vowles
NCAA Football: Notre Dame at Boston College Bob DeChiara-USA TODAY Sports

Now that spring football is over for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, we may start to see some changes with the roster. Today, the first of those changes happened with cornerback Nick Watkins announcing that he will seek a graduate transfer to play his final year of eligibility.

Watkins had a ton of potential coming out of high school as a Texas Four Star prospect. Just when he was going to be able to put it together on the field in 2015, he suffered an injury before the Fiesta Bowl.

He was a starter for the Irish in 2017 and played pretty well under the new system that Mike Elko brought, but he was also inconsistent at times and his playing time at the end of the year (and this spring) was starting to get shifted more towards Troy Pride Jr.’s way.

Good luck to Nick wherever he may go.

This is actually something Notre Dame needed as they are over the 85 man scholarship limit. No one asked Brian Kelly at the end of spring ball what possibilities there might be for the roster to be reduced - mostly because it’s an uncomfortable answer.

Notre Dame will still need to lose two more players before fall to get to that limit.

2018 Notre Dame Football Scholarship Chart

Position/Year Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior 5th Year
Position/Year Freshman Sophomore Junior Senior 5th Year
Quarterback Phil Jurkovec Avery Davis* Ian Book* Brandon Wimbush*
Running Back Jahmir Smith, C'Bo Flemister Jafar Armstrong* Tony Jones Jr.* Dexter Williams
Tight End George Takacs, Tommy Tremble Cole Kmet, Brock Wright Alize' Mack* Nic Weishar
Wide Receiver Micah Jones, Kevin Austin, Braden Lenzy, Lawrence Keys III Michael Young Chase Claypool, Javon McKinley* Chris Finke*, Miles Boykin*
Center Luke Jones Sam Mustipher
Guard John Dirksen Dillan Gibbons* Tommy Kraemer* Trevor Ruhland* Alex Bars
Tackle Cole Mabry, Jarrett Patterson Josh Lugg*, Robert Hainsey, Aaron Banks* Liam Eichenberg*
Defensive Tackle Jayson Ademilola, Ja'mion Franklin Kurt Hinish, Darnell Ewell*, Myron Tagovailoa-Amosa Micah Dew-Treadway*, Jerry Tillery Jonathan Bonner
Defensive End Justin Ademilola Kofi Wardlow* Ade Ogundeji*, Daelin Hayes, Khalid Kareem, Julian Okwara
Linebacker Matt Bauer, Ovio Oghoufo, Jack Lamb Drew White*, Jordan Genmark Heath Jonathan Jones*, Jamir Jones, DJ Morgan Te'von Coney Drue Tranquill
Rover Shayne Simon Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah*, Isaiah Robertson Asmar Bilal
Safety Derrik Allen, Paul Moala, Houston Griffith Devin Studstill, Jalen Elliott, Alohi Gilman* Nicco Fertitta, Nick Coleman
Cornerback Joe Wilkins Jr., Tariq Bracy, D.J. Brown, Noah Boykin Julian Love, Troy Pride Jr., Donte Vaughn Shaun Crawford**
Specialists John Doerer John Shannon* Justin Yoon Tyler Newsome
27/85 (27) 45/85 (18) 65/85 (20) 79/85 (14) 85/85 (6)
*Eligible For 5th Year **Eligible For 6th Year

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