Watters Is Gaining Ground for 49ers : NFL: Running back attributes his success to training hard during rehabilitation.

The 49ers had a 13-10 fourth-quarter lead and faced a third-and-three near midfield last Sunday in the Superdome. About half the population of New Orleans--the entire Saint defense included--was thinking, “Bet they throw a pass to a back.”

Still, Watters runs deep.

Steve Young fires a strike to running back Ricky Watters sprinting down the left sideline for 22 yards and a first down. The 49ers settle for a field goal and hang on to beat the Saints, 16-10.

Watters, the former Notre Dame player who missed his entire rookie season in 1991 because of injuries, gained 76 yards in 18 carries against New Orleans. He also caught seven passes for 52 yards. He’s the second-leading rusher in the NFC with 314 yards, second in total yards from scrimmage (442) and tied for eighth in receptions with 17.

Great, huh? Just what the 49ers need, another dominating offensive weapon.

“He’s an outstanding back,” Ram Coach Chuck Knox said. “He seems to be coming along very well. He catches the ball out of the backfield and he’s got excellent ability to run with it after he catches it.”

The 49ers were looking for Roger Craig II, a sequel to the all-purpose back who helped build the San Francisco dynasty, when they drafted Watters in the second round last year. They never got a chance to see what he could do, though. Watters suffered a broken bone in his right foot during the first week of training camp and then broke his right hand shortly after rejoining the team.

“He’s been the type of back we were looking for, from the standpoint of running and also being a good receiver out of the backfield,” 49er Coach George Seifert said. “But he knows that you’re evaluated on your last game. It’s kind of a week-to-week thing, especially when you’re getting started.

“I thought he played well last week, but there were a couple of errors that he made that certainly have to be eliminated to say he has arrived.”

Seifert can remain cautious, but defensive coordinators around the league have seen enough in four games to make them wince at the mention of the 49ers’ new balance. Over the last two seasons, the running game has been the only thing mediocre about the 49ers.

Watters said the commitment to improving the rushing attack was evident from the first day of training camp.

“There was a lot of pressure on us when we first came in,” he said. “You could see that everyone was focusing on us having a really good running game. And we’re proud of where we are, but it’s not like we’re sitting here saying, ‘OK, we’re pretty good in the running game so now we can relax.’

“This team has the champion instinct, so we’re still working hard to get better.”

For a young man whose athletic career has been a litany of successes, Watters had something to prove for a change when he came to 49er camp this summer.

Watters was a two-time all-state running back at Bishop McDevitt High School in Harrisburg, Pa. He played in every game as a freshman at Notre Dame, rushing for 370 yards. He started five games at flanker as a sophomore. He rushed for more than 600 yards in each of his junior and senior seasons--the only thing preventing bigger numbers was the fact the Irish had so many stars and only one football.

And then when the 49ers drafted him, he could hardly believe his good fortune.

“I’d have to say that last year started out awesome,” Watters said. “The 49ers are my team, so when they picked me, it started out great. I always thought I’d be perfect for this scheme. It was just great.”

Watters had barely been issued his uniform, however, when he broke his foot.

“Getting hurt was a big setback,” he said. “I had to rehabilitate myself and get back to where I wanted to be and then getting hurt again and realizing that my whole year was lost, that was very tough on me.

“But I think I have to attribute my season thus far to how hard I trained after all that happened. Instead of going into the doghouse and just kind of quitting, I really built myself back up. I had the roughest off-season I’ve ever had in my life. I really worked hard and I think I’m reaping the benefits of that.”

The 49ers, who hadn’t seen Watters in action and weren’t sure how he would respond to the injuries, weren’t taking any chances when it came to reviving the running game. They drafted Florida State’s Amp Lee in the second round this year.

Watters was too busy lifting weights to worry.

“At the time, I hadn’t played, so there was no reason for me to see it as a reflection on the way I had been playing or anything,” he said. “I think they were trying to beef up the position, get some quality athletes in here to play the position because there had been a lot of talk about how they weren’t getting the productivity they wanted out of the backfield.

“I didn’t take it personally at all.”

He did, however, arrive at camp in the best shape of his life and was able to “learn on the run and run out all my plays.” Now, he has run away with the starting job.

“Originally, we drafted Ricky two years ago with the idea that he had the ability to be our starter,” Seifert said. “Then he was injured, so we drafted Amp Lee. We had to make sure we had a guy.

“In training camp, we basically alternated the two and they both played a great deal during the course of the preseason. It was felt at that time that Ricky had the edge. It wasn’t a dramatic edge, but it was an edge.

“So we went with him and he’s taken advantage of the opportunity.”

Is Watters, 23, blase about his new status as a featured player in one of the NFL’s high-profile offenses? Let’s just say nobody will be calling him Cool Watters.

Seifert describes him as “an excitable fellow.” Some of his teammates think “wild man” might be a better term.

“You wonder if he’s had caffeine or something,” offensive tackle Steve Wallace told the San Jose Mercury News. “He just has so much energy. You want to grab him and say, ‘Hey, cut out all that mess.’ But he’s just having fun.”

Watters doesn’t need any coffee. His favorite item on the Sunday brunch menu is a head-on collision with a linebacker. Please pass the helmet.

“It gets me fired up,” he said. “Playing the game, that’s what gets me excited. I’m not out there for the accolades or the money or whatever, I’m out there because I’m having a good time.

“I like to enjoy myself when I’m playing and I think I’m breathing that into the other players because they’re starting to get into it too.”

While the rookie--who often grades out higher in enthusiasm than decision-making--infects the huddle with energy, the veterans pass out advice. Not surprisingly, Watters loves that too.

“I’m learning with every game,” Watters said. “I’m getting better because the guys are lifting me up, telling me what I need to do to be a better back. We’re communicating. Guys are talking and discussing things. Instead of arguing when things go wrong, we talk.

“This team is like a family. This has been my dream and I can’t believe it’s coming true. I’m having the time of my life.”

If the San Francisco running game continues to keep up with it’s high-powered pass offense, it might add up to another trip to the Super Bowl for the guys in scarlet and gold. And Watters’ dream team might be in for a dream season.

“Last year, we were mixing players a lot and might have forced the issue as far as the run is concerned because we knew we had to get better at it,” Seifert said. “We’re more stable now. I don’t think we’re pressing as much. This year, we’re pretty much committed to (fullback) Tom Rathman and Ricky and we’re going with the flow.”

And Watters is definitely flowing.