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.
High School Years
Watters attended Bishop McDevitt High School in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, and was a letterman in football.
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 season
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 and a potent Irish rushing attack featuring four future NFL running backs, Mark Green, Tony Brooks, Anthony Johnson and Braxton Banks.
Watters' contribution on special teams was equally impressive. Returning punts full-time he would finish the season with two punt returns for TDs.
Suspension against USC
Before the annual Notre Dame-USC game, coach Holtz would shock the sports world by suspending both Watters and running back Tony Brooks for disciplinary reasons. Playing the most significant game of the season on the road against the #2 ranked team in the nation without its leading receiver (Watters) and leading rusher (Brooks), Notre Dame would pull out a convincing 27-10 victory over USC. Watters would later call the moment one of the more disappointing moments of his career.
Fiesta Bowl
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 11th national championship. With six All-Americans, the team would cement its place as one of the greatest teams in the history of college football.
1989 season
1989 would again see Notre Dame contending for the National Championship. With teammate Tony Brooks suspended for the season for academic reasons, Holtz would switch Watters back to tailback. Watters didn't disappoint and Notre Dame would spend 13 weeks ranked #1 before losing to Miami 27-10 in the regular season finale. The Irish would conclude the season with a victory over the #1 ranked Colorado Buffaloes in the Orange Bowl but ultimately finish the season ranked #2 behind Miami. For the year Watters would finish second on the team in rushing behind quarterback Tony Rice.
NFL career
Despite his sometimes brash personality, Watters had an outstanding NFL 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 approx 10 players in NFL history to average over 100 total yards/per game over a career.
Ricky is also remembered for a cutscene where he was in tears while listening to the National Anthem as a Seattle Seahawk when he played in the game after the September 11th terrorist attacks.
Watters will be on the ballot along with Terrell Davis, former NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue, and others for the February 3, 2007 Hall of Fame selections.