Someone, somewhere might have something bad to say about Deshaun Watson.
Maybe if you scour Twitter or Facebook closely enough you’ll find a discouraging word about the sophomore quarterback who has lifted undefeated Clemson to the top spot in the CFP rankings and is one of three finalists for this year’s Heisman Trophy.
There don’t appear to be any detractors among his coaches, former coaches, teammates and even opponents. Praise freely flows when they describe Watson.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney talks about his intelligence and confidence.
Offensive lineman Eric Mac Lain mentions Watson’s humility and teamwork.
Shaq Lawson, another teammate, uses words like “great” and “unbelievable” when answering questions about his character and athletic ability.
And North Carolina coach Larry Fedora, who just watched Watson throw for 289 yards and rush for 131 yards on his way to accounting for five touchdowns in Clemson’s 45-37 victory over the Tar Heels in the ACC Championship game, has gone on at length about his poise.
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There’s this from Bruce Miller, who has known Watson since he was a sixth-grader and coached him at Gainesville High School.
“He’s a great player, but he’s a better kid, (although) he’s not really a kid anymore,” Miller said. “He’s got all the intangibles he needs to be a great player and a great person.
“He’s not one to moan about much. He just seems to have it all together.”
But his numbers and deeds as Clemson’s quarterback have powered Watson’s trip to New York City, where he’ll be joined by Alabama running back Derrick Henry and Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey at the Heisman Trophy presentation ceremony Saturday night.
Recent history favors Watson.
Quarterbacks have won 13 of the past 15 Heismans, including five in row. Mark Ingram (Alabama, 2009) and Reggie Bush (USC, 2005) are the only backs to win since 1999.
But Henry passed Herschel Walker and Bo Jackson on his way to becoming the SEC’s single-season rushing mark with 1,986 yards (to go with 23 touchdowns), and McCaffrey has established the single-season NCAA mark for all-purpose yards with 3,496 to knock Barry Sanders from that spot.
Watson has thrown for 3,512 yards and 30 touchdowns and run for 887 yards and 11 more scores to become Clemson’s first Heisman finalist. If his name is called, he would join former Auburn quarterback Cam Newton as the second winner from Georgia in the past six seasons.
As fate would have it, Saturday is the one-year anniversary of Watson’s surgery to repair a torn ACL he suffered his freshman season.
“This means a lot because I have come a long way from last year,” Watson said in a statement this week. “A year ago on Dec. 12, I was recovering from surgery. I remember watching a story about Adrian Peterson and how he suffered a torn ACL (December 2011), but came back to become the MVP of the NFL that next year. That inspired me to work hard on my rehab.”
That’s exactly what Miller expected from Watson. He said they often communicate through calls and texts, and Watson would let Miller know how he was doing throughout the rehab process.
“I would have been surprised if he hadn’t played this year,” Miller said. “He’s just an extremely hard worker. He knows what he’s supposed to do. He’s one of the most coachable kids I’ve ever been around, and he’s just one of those types of people that you tell them what they have to do and he’ll get it done.
“If you tell him to be in the training room at 6:30 in the morning, he’ll be there. That’s just as he is.”
Watson was on the Heisman periphery until late in the season.
He told reporters last week that he had recently received a letter from the Heisman committee telling him that they were watching him, but it wasn’t until after Clemson’s title-clinching win did Watson stir the Heisman hysteria.
Videos of Swinney brushing confetti off Watson’s shoes before he struck a Heisman-like pose on the field are swirling around the Internet.
Watson received the official invitation Monday.
“I’m eager to see how things fall Saturday night,” Miller said. “Winning the Heisman wouldn’t change him at all. He’d be the same Deshaun.”
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