Drue Watts is a defensive back who has not played this season; the last season with a stat line was 2025, at Memphis.
Watts plays like an extra linebacker near the line. Played for three head coaches at two programs in four seasons: Ken Wilson, Jeff Choate and Ryan Silverfield. First career honor, 2022: All-Mountain West. On tape: 10 tackles against UAB, Week 8, 2025.
Play style
Lives near the line of scrimmage as a de facto extra linebacker.
Activity vs finishing · season enumeration
What the box score actually says
69 tackles. 2 passes defended. 0 interceptions. 11 TFL.
Counts only, never a rate — splash-event sample sizes this small (interceptions, pass breakups, TFL) are noise as a rate and signal only as a tally.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
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Game log · Week-by-week
2025 season · 11 games
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| Wk | Opp | TKL | SOLO | TFL | SACK | INT | PD | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | W 45-10vs Chattanooga | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 2 | W 38-16@ Georgia State | 5 | 3 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 3 | W 28-7@ Troy | 6 | 3 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 2 | |
| Wk 4 | W 32-31vs Arkansas | 6 | 5 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 5 | W 55-26@ Florida Atlantic | 6 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 6 | W 45-7vs Tulsa | 6 | 2 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 8 | L 24-31@ UAB | 10 | 8 | 0.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | Season-high 10 tackles |
| Wk 9 | W 34-31vs No. 18 South Florida | 7 | 5 | 2.5 | 1.0 | — | 0 | 2.5 TFL |
| Wk 12 | L 27-31@ East Carolina | 4 | 2 | 1.0 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Wk 14 | L 17-28vs Navy | 9 | 6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | — | 0 | |
 Bowl | L 7-31vs NC State | 7 | 4 | 1.5 | 1.0 | — | 0 | |
| Total | 69 | 40 | 11.0 | 4.0 | — | 2 |
Week 9 · 2025
W 34-31
1 sack · 2.5 tackles for loss · 7 tackles
Edged out South Florida at home in a shootout.
Where his impact shows up on the stat sheet
PD rate
3%2 pass breakupsTackle volume
69tackles this seasonTFL rate
16%11 TFL69 tackles · 11 for loss · 4 sacks · 2 pass breakups.
Splits · Per-game
2025 season · 11 games
Home vs Road
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home5g | 6.2 | 1.1 | 0.2 | 0.0 |
| Road5g | 6.2 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
First half vs Second half
| TKL/g | TFL/g | SACK/g | PD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-77g | 5.6 | 0.9 | 0.3 | 0.3 |
| Weeks 8+4g | 7.5 | 1.1 | 0.5 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Ryan Silverfield
Pass share
46.9%
412 pass / 466 run
Plays / game
67.5
13 games
Team sack rate
7.5%
425 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2025
69 tackles in 11 games, more tackles a game than most FBS defensive backs who play every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #30 at the position.
2026 outlook
In the mix for All-AAC
Based on 2025: #2 of 28 American Athletic DBs
A base rate for the rank, not a forecast of this player: 49% of returning players who ranked #1–3 at their position in their conference made an all-conference team the next season (95% confidence interval 43–54%).
Honored in a first season.
Trophy case · Confirmed honors
What the selectors said
ALL-MOUNTAIN WEST
All-Mountain West mention (2022)
Coaching lineage · 2022–2025
3 coachesPlayed for 3 head coaches at 2 schools: Ken Wilson, Jeff Choate and Ryan Silverfield.
