Watts has strong showing in Shrine Bowl

FRISCO – For the friends, fans and family rooting for Ryan Watts, his jog to the locker room early in the fourth quarter of Thursday night’s East-West Shrine Bowl revived some old worries. Watts, the Longhorns’ best boundary cornerback the past two years, battled injuries for much of the 2023 season. So getting banged up in his last dress rehearsal for April’s NFL draft would provide a sour end to a strong week of work for the native of nearby Little Elm.

But moments later, Watts rushed out of the tunnel at the Star and quickly returned to the field.

“I just had to use the restroom,” Watts said with a grin after the game. “They don’t have a tent like they do back in college.”

As Watts found out, such game breaks are just one difference between the college game and the NFL. So is playing safety; the 6-foot-3, 212-pound Watts, primarily a cornerback during his college days at Ohio State and Texas, worked at both safety and cornerback during the week of practice preceding the Shrine Bowl.

In his final game wearing a Longhorns helmet, Watts played both positions and rang up three solo tackles in five series while rotating in the secondary. He allowed one completion on two targets, and he also saw action on kick and punt coverage. For the record, Watts’ West team won the 99th edition of the Shrine Bowl 26-11.

“I got my feet wet at both” safety and corner, he said. “It felt great being out there. I wished I could have stayed out there and not keep rotating in.”

But playing special teams and seeing just a handful of snaps comes with being a pro, especially a rookie who was seen as a late-round draft pick or an undrafted free agent entering the week of the Shrine Bowl. However, NFL scouts liked his size and willingness to play any position in the secondary.

Watts said he just wants to keep listening to the various scouts and coaches and work on his craft. He recently secured an invitation to the NFL scouting combine in Indianapolis on Feb. 29-March 3.

“I just learned a lot from the coaches and their different perspectives on everything,” Watt said. “I’m learning a lot on how to practice like a pro. It was a good experience.”

JEROME MIRON/USA TODAY Former Texas cornerback Ryan Watts, second from left, celebrates with his West squad teammates after Jarius Monroe of Tulane intercepted a pass in the East-West Shrine Bowl at the Star in Frisco. Watts had three solo tackles in the game while playing both cornerback and safety.