TAMPA, Fla. — The easy-to-spot-comparisons between Clemson’s Deshaun Watson and former Texas legend Vince Young heading into the College Football Playoff National Championship game against No. 1 Alabama at Raymond James Stadium on Monday can’t be ignored.
Watson came up short as a sophomore then guaranteed that the Tigers would be in the national championship game the following season. Just like Young.
Watson didn’t win the Heisman Trophy as a junior and will be a polarizing NFL Draft prospect while pundits debate whether he can be a franchise quarterback. Just like Young.
MORE: Clemson vs. Alabama numbers that matter
In the moment, the stage is set for Watson to topple a dynasty and lead No. 2 Clemson to its first national championship since 1981.
Young did that on his own. He led No. 2 Texas to a 41-38 against No. 1 USC in the 2006 Rose Bowl with a 467-yard performance that still ranks among the all-time greatest performances. We kind of saw Watson do the same thing with 478 total yards and four TDs to Alabama in last year’s College Football Playoff National Championship game. Only that was a 45-40 loss.
What more can Watson really do? He has an easy answer for that.
“Just be Clemson,” Watson said at Amalie Arena as part of Media Day on Saturday. “Don't try to do too much. Everyone do their job, and don’t make it bigger than what it is.”
Watson’s refusal to make himself bigger than he is continues to be the defining trait for the best player in college football over the past two seasons.
No, Watson didn’t win the Heisman Trophy, but the only quarterbacks who have done that then won the national title since 2010 are Auburn’s Cam Newton (2010) and Florida State’s Jameis Winston (2013). Those are decent comparisons. Watson idolizes Newton and inherited the role of the face of the ACC from Winston. Watson might not go No. 1 in the 2017 NFL Draft like Netwon and Winston, but he might creep into that conversation if he leads the Tigers to a victory against the Crimson Tide. Newton and Winston, however, endured their share of controversy at the college level first.
Watson couldn’t be polarizing if he tried. He fielded another round of questions for Alabama and didn’t divulge more than he needed to. He’s not going to make this game any bigger than it needs to be with bulletin-board material. Watson doesn’t have to be Young, though an encore performance in that neighborhood would go a long way in ending Alabama’s 26-game win streak. He doesn’t have to be Newton or Winston — who both led their teams to national titles in the BCS championship game.
Who can speak to that? Two-time national champions and Heisman Trophy winner Tim Tebow. He carried the Gators to a national championship as a junior in 2008. Tebow knows what Watson is capable of.
“Watson probably has the highest ceiling of any quarterback in college football right now,” Tebow told SN. “I don’t mean that as the next level. I mean when he’s hot in games right now with his ability to throw the deep ball, throw the short ball accurately and to be able to run with speed and also downhill in the power game. He has so much offense. He’s a big-time player and a leader. That program rallies around him.”
Watson had no problem making that happen when he made the guarantee to reach Tampa for this game. It wasn’t bragging. Watson simply made a matter-of-fact statement that happened to come true.
MORE: Way-too-early Top 25 for 2017-18
“Just belief,” Watson said earlier this week. “That's just the type of person I am. That's it. I have high standards for me and my teammates, and this is where we wanted to be. We weren't going to sit there and say we're not going to be in Tampa or in the national championship.”
This also isn’t a process that happened overnight. Watson is a three-year starter with a 31-3 record who has seen all the ups-and-downs throughout his career. While it might seem like he amps that up in the College Football Playoff setting — that might not be the case.
“I think he's played great his whole three years,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “I mean, great. You can pinpoint a couple of bad moments here and there, but I don't think he's just played great in these playoff games. He's played great for three years and been a consistent performer, as consistent a guy as I've ever been around. What makes him special in all of those games, not just these playoff type games, is his preparation. The guy is an unbelievable winner, and he is incredibly attentive to details and a great, great student of the game.”
To that point, Watson said he’s watched last year’s game against Alabama at least five times this week. It’s not the same game; he’s preparing for a new-look defense led by defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt, but it’s part of his preparation. Watson was even asked if he was kryptonite for Alabama’s defense.
“I didn’t say that,” he responded with a laugh. “I’m not going to put that curse on me.”
There are no curses to put, and it’s OK to shed labels. Watson doesn’t have to be Young, Newton, Tebow or Winston, even if he brings all the things to the table that made those quarterbacks special. He’s simply looking for the one thing all those quarterbacks had at the college level before taking the next step.
He answered that question last in his one-hour media session, a soft mic drop in anticipation of that one last big performance everybody can’t wait for Monday.
“It's been special, it's been fun and we have just been enjoying it and hopefully we can get the one goal that we haven't achieved yet,” Watson said before a pause. “And that's a national championship.”
