Nine quarterbacks won the Heisman Trophy this decade, and Clemson’s Deshaun Watson was not one of them. Watson, however, led the transformation of a rising ACC program into a national championship superstar. For his efforts, he is Sporting News' college football Athlete of the Decade.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney knew Deshaun Watson wasn’t a normal quarterback when he arrived on campus. He watched Watson put on 20 pounds leading up to his freshman season and saw all the practice habits that would become legendary over the next three seasons.
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Swinney, however, still could not believe what he saw on Watson’s first series on Aug. 31, 2014. Watson led a drive to the 30-yard line, where he fired pass down the seam for a touchdown pass to receiver Charone Peake over a Georgia defender who wasn’t even looking for the ball.
“On the road at Georgia, and he checked to that,” Swinney told Sporting News. “That was a check off a blitz check, and he throws a rope to Charone Peake. The rest is kind of history from there. We knew out of the jump that he was special.”
Watson never won a Heisman Trophy at Clemson, but he put together a three-year stretch that included 10,163 passing yards and 90 touchdowns with 1,934 rushing yards and 26 more scores. He finished 32-3 as a starter and defined his legacy with two legendary performances against Alabama in the College Football Playoff championship game. Watson transformed Clemson from contender to national champion while bridging a record-setting gap between Tajh Boyd and Trevor Lawrence.
Swinney believes that started when Watson played through a torn ACL to lead Clemson to a 35-17 victory against South Carolina on Nov. 29, 2014.
“We were having success,” Swinney said. “We’ve had a decade. We’re the second-winningest team in the decade the last nine years, but people I don’t think looked at us as a national championship-relevant program. He changed all that. He paved the path. That’s what other quarterbacks have seen. It’s because elite players want to have a chance to win it all.”
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The following season, Watson led undefeated Clemson to the College Football Playoff championship game, where it faced Alabama. The Crimson Tide won 45-40, but Watson compiled 478 total yards of offense with four touchdown passes.
“Deshaun was amazing,” Swinney said. “They couldn’t stop him, and they knew it. That’s one of the reasons they did the onside kick. Another touchdown was on a kick return. We really controlled the game offensively and defensively. Watching us play and watching him lead on that stage, there was no question we would be back. I said, ‘It won’t be 34 years before we get another shot at this.’”
The next season, Watson dueled with Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson in a 42-36 shootout the Tigers won on Oct. 1, 2016, and that helped create another shot at Alabama in the CFP championship game. When the Crimson Tide took a 31-28 lead with 2:07 remaining, Watson looked at his teammates and delivered a messaged Swinney will never forget.
“He told his players, ‘Let’s go be legendary,’” Swinney said. “That’s what happened.”
Watson hit Hunter Renfrow with a 2-yard touchdown pass with one second remaining. Clemson won 35-31, and that was the perfect cap to a college career.
“It was just destined to be,” Swinney said. “There was 2:01 left on the clock, and this guy takes us down the field against the best team that’s been and wins in that fashion with one second and never flinched. That’s just an amazing ending for Deshaun. That’s just who he is.”
Clemson’s success continues today. Kelly Bryant led the Tigers to the CFP the following season, and freshman Trevor Lawrence led the Tigers to a 44-16 blowout in the championship game last season.
Watson, now in his third season with the Houston Texans, continues to lead in the same unassuming way that led to the big-time success at Clemson. Watson visited the team this season, but it was to surprise Swinney with the AFCA Good Works Coach of the Year award.
Swinney remains grateful for the relationship and has enjoyed watching that success translate to the next level.
“They overthink things,” Swinney said. “This kid has won since the ninth grade, since the eighth grade. He has won his entire life. He’s won, and guys don’t change their stripes. This guy is who he is, and he’s gone right to the Texans and changed everything about them. He’s done it.”
“It’s just a matter of time before he wins a Super Bowl or two,” he said. “Because that’s going to happen.”
By the numbers
— Watson was the first quarterback in FBS history to pass for 4,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in the same season. He had 4,104 passing yards and 1,105 rushing yards in 2015. Kyler Murray, who had 4,361 passing yards and 1,001 rushing yards last season, is the only other quarterback to do that.
— Watson is one of just five quarterbacks to account for more than 5,000 yards of offense in multiple seasons. Graham Harrell (2007-08), Case Keenum (2008-09, 2011), Patrick Mahomes (2015-16) and Lamar Jackson (2016-17) are the others.
— In the two championship games against Alabama, Watson was 66 of 103 passing for 825 yards, seven touchdowns and one interception. He added 41 carries for 116 yards and a score. That’s 941 total yards of offense, and he even added one punt for 38 yards.
What they’re saying:
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney on why he compares Deshaun Watson to Michael Jordan whenever the opportunity arises:
“It’s what he’s made of. It’s his belief. He has a belief that all the great ones have. I always bring up Michael Jordan. How many games-winners did he miss? He was never afraid to fail. He had no fear of failure. He was going to make it. The great ones have that, and that’s what make Deshaun special. He just has a belief in himself that he can do whatever he needs to do. It goes back to how he was shaped as a young person and his perspective on life. It’s just how hard he prepares. He’s amazing. He’s already played the game a million times in his head before he gets in those situations. He expects it and smiles at it. The more uncomfortable it is — the more comfortable he becomes.
“This guy didn’t go to Ohio State or Alabama or Notre Dame. He went to a place that had not won a national championship since 1981. He went to a place where people said he couldn’t do certain things and couldn’t play with the big boys in the postseason and blah, blah, blah. He took us to two national championship games, and he put up 1,000 yards on Alabama. It’s unbelievable what this guy did. What he did is he proved you can go to Clemson and accomplish anything.”
