Chris Watt (born August 17, 1990) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

offensive guard Offensive may refer to: * Offensive, the former name of the Dutch political party Socialist Alternative * Offensive (military), an attack * Offensive language ** Fighting words or insulting language, words that by their very utterance inflict inj ...

and current coach, who played four seasons in the

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(NFL). He was drafted by the

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in the third round, 89th overall, of the

2014 NFL Draft The 2014 NFL draft was the 79th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players to the league. The draft, officially the "Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in New Y ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at Notre Dame.

Early life and high school

Watt was born on August 17, 1990, in Glen Ellyn, Illinois to parents Rich and Mary Pat. Watt attended

Glenbard West High School Glenbard West High School is a public four-year high school located at the corner of Ellyn Avenue and Crescent Boulevard in Glen Ellyn, a western suburb of Chicago, Illinois, in the United States. It is part of Glenbard Township High School Distri ...

Glen Ellyn, Illinois Glen Ellyn is a village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. A suburb located due west of downtown Chicago, the village has a population of 28,846 as of the 2020 Census. History Glen Ellyn, like the neighboring town to the east, Lomba ...

. Watt played three different offensive line positions on the football team. He was selected to the 2009 U.S. Army All-American Bowl in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

. He was also named to USA Today All-American team and placed on the Parade All-America team following his senior year. He was named the top high school recruit in the midwest by the ''

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''. He was also named to Tom Lemming's 26 man All-America team. He was selected first-team All-American by MaxPreps in 2008. Considered a four-star recruit by ''

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'', he was rated the second best

prospect in his class. He was named the 2008–09

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

Gatorade Player of the Year. The ''Sporting News'' named him fifth-best offensive lineman and 35th best overall. He was ranked the top overall offensive guard by

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and rated as 68th best overall prospect in the SI.com/Takkle Top 200.

College career

Watt

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

as a freshman in 2009 so he did not play any games. Watt began to see some action in 2010 as a Sophomore when he played 13 games. He provided depth and backup for Chris Stewart at right guard. He was the Fighting Irish's starting left guard in 2011, 2012, and 2013. During his senior year at Notre Dame, he alongside his offensive line compatriots only allowed eight sacks. This is tied for the second-fewest in the U.S. He started all 13 games for the Irish in 2011. He played 47 straight games and started in 34 consecutive games before missing the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

game due to an injured knee. He returned to start the final three games of the 2013 season, before being held out of the

Pinstripe Bowl The Pinstripe Bowl is a National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) college football bowl game that is held at Yankee Stadium in The Bronx, New York City. First played in 2010, the game is organized ...

vs.

Rutgers Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's College, and was a ...

due to his previously injured knee. At the end of his senior year, he was the recipient of the Pietrosante Award, given to the best student-athlete who demonstrated courage, loyalty, teamwork, dedication, and pride that resembled the late Irish fullback.

Professional career

San Diego Chargers

Watt was selected by the

in the 3rd round of the

. Watt has played in 31 games in his professional career, and has started a total of 23.

New Orleans Saints

On June 19, 2017, Watt was signed by the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

. On July 26, 2017, Watt retired from the NFL.

Coaching career

Watt spent the 2020 season as a graduate assistant at Notre Dame, where he worked with the offensive line. On March 4, 2021, it was announced that Watt had been hired as the offensive line coach for Tulane University.

Personal life

Watt's great-great-uncle, Dan Hurley, and his grandfather, William, played football at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

. His father, Richard (referred to by his friends as Watty), played football at

Hillsdale College Hillsdale College is a Private university, private Conservatism in the United States, conservative Christian liberal arts college in Hillsdale, Michigan. It was founded in 1844 by Abolitionism, abolitionists known as Free Will Baptists. Its missio ...

, and an uncle, Robert, played football at

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

. Watt's brother, Kevin, played football at Northwestern and his sister, Katie, played soccer at Toledo.

References

External links

*
Notre Dame Fighting Irish bio

San Diego Chargers bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watt, Chris 1990 births Living people American football offensive guards New Orleans Saints players Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players People from Glen Ellyn, Illinois Players of American football from Illinois San Diego Chargers players Sportspeople from DuPage County, Illinois