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Must-Watch Players For Saints Fans: Indiana vs. Notre Dame Showdown

The College Football Playoffs start on Friday, and here's some players to watch when the Hoosiers and Fighting Irish play.

John Hendrix

Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts (0) celebrates picking up a Virginia fumble during a NCAA college football game at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in South Bend.
Notre Dame safety Xavier Watts (0) celebrates picking up a Virginia fumble during a NCAA college football game at Notre Dame Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 16, 2024, in South Bend. / MICHAEL CLUBB/SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
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Even though there's three regular season games to go, the Saints are a team that has to embrace the future. New Orleans faces many decisions going into the offseason, and they're going to have to go from speed to execution to help start building for 2025.

The team's scouting department has been at work for months looking at college's best prospects, and with the College Football Playoffs getting started on Friday night, it's a great chance for everyone to get familiar with several players who could help the Saints.

The playoffs kick off with No. 7 seed Notre Dame (11-1) hosting No. 10 seed Indiana (11-1), and both sides of the ball on each team have plentiful talent to hone in on.

Notre Dame Fighting Irish Prospects to Watch

Howard Cross III would be an interesting addition to the Saints defensive line.
Aug 31, 2024; College Station, Texas, USA; Notre Dame Fighting Irish defensive lineman Howard Cross III (56) tackles Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Conner Weigman (15) at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images / Maria Lysaker-Imagn Images
  • Xavier Watts, S (No. 0)
  • Jack Kiser, LB (No. 24)
  • Howard Cross III, DL (No. 56)
  • Rylie Wills, DL (No. 99)
  • Mitchell Evans, TE (No. 88)
  • Riley Leonard, QB (No. 13)

Xavier Watts projects in Rounds 2-3, while Jack Kiser is a little bit 'older' of a prospect but is a leader for the Fighting Irish defense. Howard Cross III can be a menace on the interior and this figures to be a game won in the trenches for Notre Dame. He should be a major focal point along with Rylie Wills.

Cornerback Benjamin Morrison is worth mentioning here as a player to keep tabs on throughout the draft process. He won't play due to a hip injury that required surgery, but projects as a Round 1-2 pick. Naturally, we'll have to see how things play out with him.

Watts and Riley Leonard both accepted Senior Bowl invites, so the Saints will get a lot more looks at both.

Indiana Hoosiers Prospects Prospects to Watch

Mikail Kamara will be one to watch on Friday night
Indiana's Mikail Kamara (6) celebraters during the Indiana versus Michigan football game at Memorial Stadium on Friday, Nov. 9, 2024. / Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
  • Mikail Kamara, EDGE (No. 6)
  • Kurtis Rourke, QB (No. 9)
  • C.J. West, DL (No. 8)
  • Jalin Walker, LB (No. 2)

Mikail Kamara took down AP All-American third team honors and has been praised as one of the main reasons why Indiana has vastly improved. He's arguably the top prospect to watch on the Hoosiers and looks to be a Round 2-3 projection.

Obviously, not many get to watch a lot of Indiana football, but this is a tremendous opportunity for Kamara to show his best in the national spotlight.

College Football Playoffs How to Watch: Notre Dame vs. Indiana

  • Date: Friday, Dec. 20, 2024
  • Time: 7 p.m. CT
  • Venue: Notre Dame Stadium (Notre Dame, IN)
  • TV: ABC, ESPN Streaming: ESPN+, fuboTV
  • Game Odds: Fighting Irish (-7), O/U at 51.5
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John Hendrix
JOHN HENDRIX

I officially started covering the New Orleans Saints & other NFL topics in 2011. My work has been featured on various outlets over the years. I worked closely with Skyhorse Publishing in Fall 2018 to update the book, Tales From the New Orleans Saints Sidelines, which filled in all Saints material from the 2013-2017 seasons. Prior to joining Saints News Network, I served as the Managing Editor of SB Nation's Canal Street Chronicles for 3.5 years, and before that with FanSided's Who Dat Dish as the Managing Editor for several years. I have also had experiences of being a freelance Saints reporter for The Sun Herald in Biloxi, MS and a contributing writer for WDSU, a local NBC TV station in New Orleans. I have appeared on a vast amount of TV and Radio shows, both nationally and locally. For tips, comments, or suggestions, please contact me at johnhendrix@saintsnews.net

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