By Will Vandervort.
Deshaun Watson wasn’t sure when he was going to get his opportunity to play in Saturday’s 45-21 loss to 12th-ranked Georgia, but Clemson’s true freshman was hoping he could make an impact when he did.
Despite the loss, Watson gave No. 16 Clemson a glimpse of things to come in the future when he hit wide receiver Charone Peake with a lazier for a 30-yard touchdown pass with 13:52 to play in the first half.
“We have been game planning for these guys for a while and we saw they were doing something we had seen and we just took advantage of it,” Watson said. “I just threw it in there and Peake made me look good.”
Watson also made Peake look good, while embarrassing Georgia linebacker Ramik Wilson at the same time. With a safety over the top of Peake and Wilson dropping underneath, the Bulldogs’ linebacker never even knew Watson threw the ball, which Peake corralled while being hit by the two defenders in the end zone.
It was a great start for the freshman from Gainesville, Ga., where 93,000 Georgia fans were screaming for him to do badly.
“I did not think the environment or the setting was too big for him,” Clemson offensive coordinator Chad Morris said. “He came in and led us down the field for a touchdown.”
Watson said the touchdown pass on that first drive was a dream come true. He said he had been dreaming about scoring his first touchdown ever since he was recruited by Clemson three years ago.
“It was a great feeling,” he said.
That feeling began with 34 seconds to play in the first quarter with the Tigers trailing 14-7. On the first play of his career, he kept the ball on a read-option and ran seven yards off the left side.
“It was a great start getting a couple of yards,” he said. “I love to get the hit whenever I first get in the game so whatever they call I will try to execute it.”
He executed a third down-and-four play to perfection later in the drive when he dropped in a perfectly executed throw over the head and into the arms of wide receiver Mike Williams. That play went for 29 yards to the Georgia 30 and set the freshman up for his first career touchdown pass on the next play.
“That is something we practice all the time,” Watson said. “Mike is a great player and he is a reliable receiver. I know when the ball comes his way, he is going to catch it. I gave him a shot and he made me look good.”
Watson then made Peake look good with his 30-yard scoring pass on the next play.
“It felt great,” Watson said about his first touchdown pass. “It is every freshman’s dream to score on their first drive – their first chance to get to play on the college stage. It felt good.”
Watson’s second and third times on the field at Sanford Stadium did not go as well. With Clemson trailing, 24-21, with 3:17 to play in the third quarter he came back in and tried to jump start an offense that was struggling to find itself.
He first ran for five yards off the left side on first down and then after a two-yard gain by running back D.J. Howard, he missed Demarre Kitt on third down, who was open for a long gain around the Clemson 40.
Watson came into the game again in the fourth quarter. By this time the game had gotten out of hand and Georgia’s defenders were looking for the freshman to throw the ball. He ran off the left side for one yard on first down and then was sacked for losses of six and 10 yards on second and third down.
“I wish he could have gotten something going that last drive he was out there, but he just did not have any time,” Morris said. “When they had us behind the chains, they were able to widen their ends and pin their ears back and bring some pressure and that was playing right into their hands at that point.”
Despite the way things ended, it was still a positive performance by Watson and now head coach Dabo Swinney says Clemson will go week-to-week on how they use the talented freshman quarterback.
“We need to get him some experience,” Swinney said. “We’re not going to be bashful about that. He’s proven that he can go out there and execute the system. That’s a week-by-week type thing. Nothing is set in stone.”