Former Notre Dame Cornerback Nick Watkins Will Grad Transfer To Houston

Former Notre Dame Fighting Irish cornerback Nick Watkins has announced he will graduate transfer on down to the state of Texas and join coach Major Applewhite’s Houston Cougars.

Watkins graduated from Notre Dame this past year and decided to pursue a graduate degree and his final season of eligibility elsewhere. Tom Loy and 247sports have an in-depth story where Watkins shares the details behind his decision.

Watkins is from Texas and talked about the advantages of making connections there, as well as the huge plus of getting to play with a near-guarantee of a top-10 draft pick in next year’s draft, DT Ed Oliver. As Watkins notes, his presence on the defensive line is a cover corner’s dream, and will also just bring attention to all of them on that side of the ball.

It’s also clear from Loy’s article that Watkins is leaving Notre Dame with nothing but love for the university and his former teammates and coaches. It’s very clear he is proud to have earned a degree from ND and to have played 4 years there, even with the various injuries he had to battle through.

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There’s nothing guaranteed, but you have to imagine Watkins will play a lot and probably start for Houston next season, assuming he stays healthy.

When he wasn’t injured during his ND career, Watkins was a solid CB who tallied 34 tackles, 9 passes broken up, and an interception he snared against Sam Darnold in the USC shellacking last season.

Best of luck to Nick as he finishes his college career much closer to home and playing in what has been a very successful program of late, and congrats to him on leaving South Bend with lots of fond memories and that ND degree!