“It’s really nice to be back here.” These were some of the first words Ricky Watters said on October 2 as he returned to Bishop McDevitt High School in Harrisburg for its homecoming. “And, this will be my first game. This will be my first game back watching my team play, so I’m really excited about that.”
Watters, a 1987 graduate of McDevitt who was the quarterback for the school’s football team, went on to play for Notre Dame and was a member of the Fighting Irish’s 1988 national championship team. He also played professionally for the Philadelphia Eagles, Seattle Seahawks and the San Francisco 49ers, winning a championship with them in Super Bowl XXIX.
Now residing in San Francisco, Watters recalled how his education and experiences at McDevitt prepared him for a lifetime of success.
“The thing about it that is so amazing, when I think back on it was…even though we were teenagers, they handled it like we’re professionals coming into a job, and it was like we were learning how to be professionals, young professionals,” he said. “And it wasn’t just looking the part, with ties and button-down shirts; it was also about acting the part.”
“I know that’s why my mom and dad wanted me to go there (McDevitt)…. They saw the type of individual that you become when you go to a place like that. I just think it is really good because they didn’t let you take shortcuts. Even as a good athlete or an intelligent student or whatever, all that’s great, but you still have to follow the same rules as everybody else. Everybody is looked at the same,” he said.
Attending McDevitt not only provided Watters with an excellent education, but it also kept him “out of trouble.”
“I grew up in the hood. There was a bad element around,” he explained. “There were people who I would probably look up to or started to look up to that I probably shouldn’t. And having this type of an education, being around the people that I was around, playing sports…and being around people who were all serious about academics too, that was great because we used to always go together and hang out and study for things…. It was a great atmosphere to be around and with people that will raise you up, not tear you down.”
The overall experience at McDevitt wasn’t the only thing Watters valued, as he fondly recalled the influence of his coach, Tim Rimpfel, who passed away in 2021.
“He would talk me through things if I got frustrated about something. And, the good thing was he was always positive, but at the same time, it was some tough love, too.”
Watters added that all the teachers at McDevitt, through how they interacted with the students, even when just passing in the hallway, showed how much they cared.
“They actually cared about you. They didn’t just come to their job and do the least amount,” he said.
Watters has taken that spirit of giving back and is paying it forward as he now runs a mentorship and advocacy program for adopted children.
“I was adopted as a kid and didn’t go through the foster care situation some of the kids that I mentor – probably most of them – deal with. And some of them were older, and some of them never even got adopted,” Watters said, adding others could be bounced around foster homes. “I feel like I still relate to them because I could’ve been that person. I could’ve easily been that. And I got lucky in that way.”
“I love the kids, it’s not all me helping them…. They give me a lot. They inspire me. Some of these young people, with the things that they’ve had to deal with, that they’ve had to endure, the strength that they have, the spirit that they have when they could just be upset at everybody, hating everybody…and they’re not,” he said.
When asked about his impression of McDevitt today, Watters said the school is “still doing it, but they’re doing it in a big way. They’ve taken it to another level…. It’s just so amazing. It’s come a long way since the little school on the hill that we went to.”
Watters was a four-year letterman at Bishop McDevitt. He played quarterback and wore #12. He then attended the University of Notre Dame and played under coach Lou Holtz. He was selected in the second round of the 1991 NFL draft by San Francisco and played for 10 seasons across three NFL teams.
(Photos by Chris Heisey, The Catholic Witness.)
By Rachel Bryson, The Catholic Witness
