Watts wasn’t exactly exposed to the full Bud D. Last year was a really rudimentary version of it - out of necessity (in large part precisely because of Watts and others). And it showed in in the 2nd half of games. By late in season, OCs knew that VT’s D was a 1 trick pony and couldn’t get beyond the basic game plan for each week. The same was true for the Offense to only a slightly lesser degree.

I still expect challenges this year, but I suspect BF will be able to expand the playbook a bit compared to last year. By 2020 I think we’ll see something closer to a normal BF D - the big question will be whether he will have the horses to pull it off athletically by that point.