Advertisement
premium-icon
football Edit

Wiser times for Deshaun Watson

THE WEST ZONE message board | SHOP NOW: DEALS on CLEMSON apparel

CLEMSON -– Sometimes superhuman feats on a football field create the mistaken impression that athletes are not human off it.

Deshaun Watson had long since become a celebrity by late May of 2013, a record-smashing quarterback who was attracting the biggest coaching names to Gainesville, Ga.

But he was still just a kid. He was 17 years old and prone to doing a silly and mindless thing here and there, just like everyone else. On Memorial Day weekend after his junior year, with just one semester remaining before he’d take off for college, his silly and mindless thing was taking what he thought would be a secret visit to Auburn – and then lying about it when word of the visit began spreading.

“I ‘bout killed him,” said his head coach, Bruce Miller.

Clemson junior quarterback and former five-star recruit Deshaun Watson enters the 2016 season as the Heisman frontrunner. (Tigerillustrated.com)

By now you are probably familiar with how Clemson ended up landing Watson, who has become not just the face of his football program but the face of college football itself. Chad Morris and the Tigers got in first, securing his commitment in February of 2012, and then basically spent the next two years praying they’d be able to hold off everyone else.

Morris knew if Watson followed through on his commitment that he’d be the best quarterback in Clemson history. But he spent many trips to and from Gainesville, many hours in that basketball gym watching him play, wondering if the time invested would pay off with Watson’s signature.

A glimpse back to those days also reminds us of a different mentality Clemson fans had about their program. There were plenty of reasons for optimism, plenty of reason to think this was an ascending program under Dabo Swinney. But this was a time when it was considered shocking to see Clemson beat LSU. This was a time when the Tigers were very much under the thumb of Florida State. This was a time when Tigers fans weren’t going to truly believe they had a commitment from a top quarterback until they saw the signature. The collective psyche still suffered from some insecurity and pessimism.

One of the rules with Swinney is to honor the definition of a commitment when you choose to make it. And that definition does not include going and visiting other schools. So that’s why Watson was going to keep it all quiet when he opted to hitch a ride with a Gainesville assistant coach to Auburn’s Big Cat Weekend leading to Gus Malzahn’s first season.

premium-icon
PREMIUM CONTENT

You must be a member to read the full article. Subscribe now for instant access to all premium content.

  • icn-check-mark Created with Sketch.
    Members-only forums
  • icn-check-mark Created with Sketch.
    Predict prospect commits with FanFutureCast
  • icn-check-mark Created with Sketch.
    Exclusive highlights and interviews
  • icn-check-mark Created with Sketch.
    Exclusive coverage of Rivals Camp Series
  • icn-check-mark Created with Sketch.
    Breaking recruiting news
Advertisement