Notre Dame Pro Day: Productive Workouts for Riley Leonard, Mitchell Evans & Xavier Watts
It was a pretty low-key Pro Day at Notre Dame on Thursday afternoon, but the story of the day was All-American safety Xavier Watts and his 40.
Watts didn’t run the 40 at the NFL Combine last month due to the quick turn around from Notre Dame’s appearance in the National Title game, so all eyes were on the Nebraska native when he stepped to the line.
Notre Dame’s official time was 4.56 for Watts, which would have been the 13th fastest 40 out of the 15 safeties in Indianapolis who tested.
“I’m pretty satisfied with it,” stated Watts. “A lot of people thought I was really slow. I’m glad I came out and did what I needed to do. I’m satisfied with what I did.”
Watts spent the last month in California enjoying the breeze and weather, but don’t think he wasn’t training.
In fact, Watts is on a mission to prove he’s the best safety in the 2025 NFL Draft as the film speaks volumes.
“You turn on the film and it’s self-explanatory,” explained Watts. “There’s a lot of good guys in this class, but there is nobody like me and nobody plays like me. I have the ball production that can speak for itself. At the end of the day, you turn on the film and there is nobody like me.”
Watts was also quick to credit Marcus Freeman’s emphasis on preparing the right way as he believes that’s another separating factor when you look at his peers.
“It’s a lot of film study, especially at the safety position,” Watts said. “I’m kind of like the quarterback of the defense in a sense. I’m making sure I’m always prepared. Coach Freeman does a good job of preaching being prepared. I really took that to heart at Notre Dame, so I’m glad I’ve been able to do it at the college level, so I’ll be ready for the next level.”
Mitchell Evans did test at the NFL Combine, but he also had a chip on his shoulder. The Ohio native ran a more than respectable 4.74 in the 40 and wanted to showcase his ability to run while being athletic on Thursday.
Mission accomplished.
Evans looked like his old self running routes and catching passes from quarterback Riley Leonard, which he hopes puts to bed the notion he can’t run.
“I feel I shushed the people who felt I couldn’t run smooth, run fast and run athletic,” stated Evans. “I put that rumor or perspective to rest. I feel like I did well running smooth and fast. It was good.”
The workout also put the final stamp on Evans’ career at Notre Dame and admitted it was a little sentimental going through the final workout with his former teammates.
“It was awesome to be out there,” explained Evans. “We were practicing this past week the script we ran. It really hit home that this is the last time we’re going to be together as a whole offense. It was good to go out there and have fun. To finish off with this group is special.”
Quarterback Riley Leonard didn’t test at the NFL Combine or at Pro Day, but there’s a valid reason why.
“Everybody thinks I’m really fast, so we’re going to keep it that,” laughed Leonard.
Leonard unofficially completed 62-of-66 passes during his workout. The incompletions were on deep balls and Leonard was fine with it.
When it comes to feeling like he proved something at Pro Day, Leonard was quick to downplay the workout.
“Shoot, at the end of the day, we just came out here and did routes on air,” Leonard said. “I think you can really only prove yourself on the field when you’re playing 11-on-11 with pads. Hopefully, I proved a lot to a lot of people.”
As for his time at Notre Dame, Leonard is grateful for the experience as he grew in his faith through the ups and downs of the last 12 months.
“I think Notre Dame spiritually prepared me for this,” said Leonard. “Nothing is really too big. There’s not much weight on my shoulders after developing my relationship with Christ throughout the last year.”
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