Ricky Watters

Born April 7 1969 in Harrisburg Pennsylvania Richard James Watters attended Bishop McDevitt High School in Harrisburg where he played quarterback wore number twelve and earned four letters in football He arrived at the University of Notre Dame in 1987 as a highly touted member of head coach Lou Holtzs second recruiting class Initially backing up running back Mark Green and occasionally returning kickoffs Watters helped the Fighting Irish to an 84 record and Cotton Bowl appearance Following the departure of Heisman Trophy winner Tim Brown Holtz moved Watters to flanker for the 1988 season where he led the team in receiving and returned two punts for touchdowns Despite being suspended before the annual USC game for disciplinary reasons Notre Dame won convincingly and Watters contributed to the Fighting Irishs 3421 Fiesta Bowl victory over West Virginia to secure the schools eleventh national championship In 1989 Watters moved back to tailback and finished second on the team in rushing behind quarterback Tony Rice as Notre Dame finished ranked second nationally after defeating topranked Colorado in the Orange Bowl The San Francisco 49ers selected Watters in the second round fortyfifth overall in the 1991 NFL Draft though he sat out his entire rookie season due to injuries Strengths included outstanding receiving skills that made him dangerous as both a runner and passcatcher a unique highstepping running style that earned him the nickname Ricky Running Watters from ESPNs Chris Berman and exceptional versatility that allowed him to line up at multiple positions During the 1994 NFC Divisional Round against the New York Giants Watters set an NFL postseason record with five rushing touchdowns in San Franciscos 443 victory His thirty points scored established a new record for most points by one player in a postseason game that still stands In Super Bowl XXIX Watters scored three touchdowns in the 49ers 4926 victory over the San Diego Chargers tying a Super Bowl mark After signing with the Philadelphia Eagles as a free agent in 1995 he led the league in yards from scrimmage in 1996 Watters joined the Seattle Seahawks in 1998 playing until his retirement in 2001 Watters finished his career with 10643 rushing yards 4248 receiving yards and ninetyone total touchdowns He remains one of only two NFL running backs to rush for over 1000 yards in a season for three different teams He earned five consecutive Pro Bowl selections from 1992 to 1996 Currently a motivational speaker for adopted children he is also president and CEO of Tigero Entertainment