Deshaun Watson showed big arm, bigger heart in championship game loss
Deshaun Watson may not have led his Clemson Tigers to a win in the national championship game, but he showed why he’s a winner.
Related Story: Dabo Swinney's National Championship Pregame Speech (Video)
If Clemson has nothing to be ashamed of or to hang their heads about, then Tigers quarterback Deshaun Watson has every reason to be jubilantly running through the streets of Glendale, Az. Not that he should be happy that his team lost, but Watson showed why he could be the next great NFL quarterback.
The stats are there, to be sure. Playing against the most fearsome defense in the nation, Watson passed for 405 yards and four touchdowns, as well as rushing for another 73 yards (becoming the first Division I quarterback in college football history with 4,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in a season in the process).
For any quarterback, that’s a superb game. For a true sophomore quarterback, that’s one for the ages. For a true sophomore quarterback just over a year removed from ACL surgery, it’s an instant classic and part of college football lore.
More from ACC
- ACC Power Rankings: Can #4 FSU overthrow Clemson at Death Valley East?
- College Football Playoff: Projected top 4 after Week 3
- Biggest winners and losers from College Football Week 3
- #21 Duke Football: 3 takeaways from home against Northwestern
- Wake Forest football: 3 takeaways from comeback win at Old Dominion
But Watson’s performance went way beyond stats in this game. His willingness to seemingly sacrifice his body, and to do whatever was needed to give his team a chance to win the game was evident from the first snap. The fact that he accounted for 87 percent of Clemson’s total yardage shows what he means to this team.
He’s physically gifted, football smart, calm under pressure and mature beyond his years. But most importantly, he has heart. He has more heart than ten reformed Grinches combined.
It didn’t matter how far the Tigers were down or how little time was left on the clock against Alabama. Watson. Never. Gave. Up. He fought to the bitter end and wasn’t admitting defeat until the last seconds ticked off the clock. There was no tomorrow, and every play Deshaun Watson made showed that fact.
I’m just going to go ahead and say this, because I feel it.
He’s everything we all wished Jameis Winston had been, and even if Deshaun Watson never wins a national championship, he’ll still end up being a more highly regarded draft pick. There will be no question marks…no weighing the on-field play against the possible red flags.
Watson is as complete a quarterback as we’ve seen in the college game in many years.
“It won’t be another 34 years before we get back, I promise”, head coach Dabo Swinney said after the loss. Chances are he’s probably right.
Clemson may not be back in the national championship game next season, or even in the playoffs. Then again, they may. But either way, it’s not going to be because Deshaun Watson didn’t live up to his end of the bargain on the field, or let his team down off the field. He’s doing to do what he’d done since he first set foot on Frank Howard Field, and that’s do his level best to win.
More saturday blitz: 10 Bold Predictions for 2016 CFB Season
BYOG – “bring your own guts” – Dabo Swinney said of his Clemson team in the past. Deshaun Watson brings enough for everyone, and then some.