After starting only five games last year in his freshman season at Clemson, it’s hard to tell how good of a quarterback Deshaun Watson really is.
When he plays, Watson is undeniably the best player on the field; but that is when he plays. Watson missed three games last season to a broken hand and is coming off surgery to repair a torn ACL suffered late in the season. To add to the uncertainty, Watson will be without offensive coordinator, Chad Morris, who left to coach at SMU, as well as star left tackle Isaiah Battle, who left to declare for the NFL’s supplemental draft.
Even with the odds stacked against him, he still may be the best quarterback in college football.
In a recent report from SportsonEarth.com, Watson has been ranked as the projected No. 1 player behind center next season, extrapolating his moments of brilliance into a breakout season.
I wouldn’t bet against Watson either.
During a game last year against South Carolina, a team they had lost to six straight times, Watson was feeling pain and instability in his leg, pulling himself out of the game on at least three occasions. Each time, however, Watson found the will to get back in the game and lead his Tigers in victory, snapping their losing streak in the process.
In an MRI following the game, trainers found out that he had played the entire game on a torn ACL. In an interview after that game, Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney praised his QB for his play, “Deshaun is just a mental and genetic freak. I told him you gotta go to the gas station and fill up with no matter what you’ve got.” He filled up alright.
If Watson can stay injury-free in this upcoming season, it’s not hard to believe he can even win the Heisman. He has great arm strength, poise, pocket presence and is very mobile. In limited time last year, he completed 67.9 percent of his passes for 1,466 yards while throwing 14 touchdowns and 2 interceptions. He also notched 10.7 yards/attempt with a passer rating of 188.6; both are superior to Heisman winner Marcus Mariota’s last season.
Want to see if he passes the eye test? Check out his 6 TD game against UNC last year below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tZ5_UO6gng
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*Featured Photo (above) credit to USA TODAY Sports
