Ricky Watters

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Ricky Watters (born April 7, 1969, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) is a former American Football running back who played for the San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles, and finally the Seattle Seahawks. Watters played college football at the University of Notre Dame under coach [Lou Holtz]] where he won a National Championship as a wide receiver on the 1988 Notre Dame National Championship Team. He would earn a NFL Championship in 1994 as a member of the San Francisco 49ers. Watters was known throughout his playing career for his outstanding receiving skills and unique high-step running style which earned him the nickname "Running Watters", from Chris Berman.

College Career

Recruitment and 1987 season

Ricky Watters arrived at South Bend in 1987 as a highly touted member of coach Lou Holtz's second recruiting class. The class was Notre Dame's second consecutive Top 10 recruiting class, following on the heels of the '86 class which included star quarterback Tony Rice. Overall the '87 class would produce several quality NFL players, including Tony Brooks, Tim Grunhard, and Todd Lyght. Watters would begin the season backing up Mark Green and occasionally returning kickoffs. Behind Rice and an infusion of new talent the team would go 8-4, including an appearance in the Cotton Bowl against Texas A&M.

1988 National Championship

Following the departure of Heisman trophy winner Tim Brown after the 1987 season and looking to ignite the Irish's passing attack Lou Holtz moved Watters to Brown's flanker position for the 1988 season. The move would pay immediate dividends with Watters leading the team in receiving. Watters' emergence and the arrival of freshmen Raghib Ismail and Derek Brown would force teams to respect the Irish passing game and open up the offense for Tony Rice.

Watters' contribution on special teams was equally impressive. Returning punts full-time he would finish the season with two punt returns for TDs.

In a memorable season filled with victories over ranked opponents Notre Dame would defeat the #3 West Virginia Mountaineers 34-21 in the Fiesta Bowl to secure the school's 8th national championship.

1989 season

1989 would again see Notre Dame contending for the National Championship. With teammate Tony Brooks suspended for the season for academic reasons Watters would return back to his natural tailback position. Notre Dame would have an excellent season but finish ranked #2 behind the arch-rival Miami Hurricanes. For the year Watters would finish second on the team in rushing behind Tony Rice.

Despite his sometimes brash personality, Watters had an outstanding football career. He was the first running back to rush for over 1000 yards in a season for 3 separate teams, he finished his NFL career with 10,643 yards rushing and 4248 yards receiving, as well as 91 touchdowns in regular season play.

Watters gained notoriety in Philadelphia for his infamous line "For who? For what?" after his first game as an Eagle on September 3, 1995 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, when he stopped short on a passing route to avoid contact (the Buccaneers' 21-6 victory in the game was their first in a game played both outdoors and on artificial turf since their 1980 opener and snapped a 27-game losing streak for them in that situation).

On January 29, 1995, Watters scored 3 touchdowns in San Francisco's Super Bowl XXIX 49-26 victory over the San Diego Chargers. He also shares the postseason record for rushing touchdowns in a game, with 5 against the New York Giants in a January 1994 playoff game.

Ricky Watters is the epitome of a running back in a "West Coast Offense", gaining over 1,500 total yards in 7 consecutive seasons. Additionally, Ricky is one of only 5 players in NFL history to average over 100 total yards/per game over a career.

External links

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