It’s been a lifelong dream for Deshuan Watson to be playing on Sundays, and like virtually all of his hopes and dreams to date, they will now be reality.
Watson’s name was called as the #12-overall pick to the Houston Texans, who moved up in the first round just to make sure they got the guy they wanted in arguably the best QB in the draft.
Deshaun Watson started in nearby Gainesville, GA. There he realized his dreams of becoming a star QB for the Gainesville Red Elephants. Watson elevated Gainesville to a State Championship in 2012, his junior season.
Committing to Clemson as just a sophomore was yet another dream-turned-reality for Watson, who finished his career at Gainesville with three region titles [ironically the year in which they won the state title, they were not region champs] and a 46-9 record as a four-year starter, including 12 playoff wins.
While at Gainesville, Watson set the state passing record 13,077 career passing yards and 159 TDs. He added 4,057 rushing yards and another 59 TD, giving him a mind-boggling 17,134 total yards with 218 TD to his credit. The nation’s #1-ranked dual-threat QB was a bona-fide 5-star recruit, grading out with a 93-rating.
As Watson sat down one-on-one with BLITZ the day prior to leaving Gainesville for Clemson, he shared his future goals:
“One of my goals is going to come sooner than later,” stated Watson in December 2012. “Win the starting job [at Clemson] as a freshman. Win the Heisman back-to-back, win a National Championship back-to-back, 1st-round [NFL] draft pick, go undefeated, graduate/get my degree and be a role model.”
Incredibly, his predictions were fairly accurate (although not exact). Watson learned early to aim high, predicting in eighth grade to his middle school teammates that they would win a state title as juniors at Gainesville. Behold…he was precisely accurate. He had forgotten that he correctly predicted the outcome until his friends reminded him following a win over Ware County in the Georgia Dome in December 2012.
At Clemson, Watson will be remembered for being one of the best college QBs in football history, taking Clemson to unprecedented heights. Just like he wanted to do, Watson led the Tigers to an undefeated season going into the 2015 National Championship game, won multiple ACC titles and was a Heisman finalist two straight years. He graduated a year early by taking extra summer classes, and by getting a jump start while heading to Clemson a semester before most freshmen stepped on campus.
His college career was unbelievable: 10,168 pass yards, 90 passing TDs; 1,934 rushing yards, 26 rushing scores. He led the Tigers to 32 wins as starter in two full seasons and a partial season as a freshman in 2014. Watson walked off a champion with a thrilling National Championship win over powerhouse Alabama to close the 2016 season in January of this year. He stamped his legacy, in turn avenging the devastating loss in the previous National Championship loss to the Crimson Tide.
The Heisman that eluded him? As Watson has stated publicly (as well as Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney), “I didn’t miss out on the Heisman…the Heisman missed out on me.”
Thank you, @HoustonTexans. Blessed and ready to get to work. Loving this #NFLDraft #PaniniInstant card, go get https://t.co/63XlY6E7VO pic.twitter.com/twjq4lceHX
— Deshaun Watson (@DeshaunWatson4) April 28, 2017
