By Ed McGranahan.
Watching Deshaun Watson toy with N.C. State might have distracted from the bigger picture.
Still, there may have been few quarterbacks – if ever – capable of playing this game at a level that makes opponents look defenseless.
Sure, he’s making mistakes, as he did last week in setting the school record for touchdown passes, yet his numbers could have been better Saturday and possibly matched those six if his receivers latched onto three or four passes that surely were within reach.
End of the day, statistically he’s one of the two top-rated quarterbacks in the nation after the first month of the season, and it’s conceivable that before the calendar turns again the “H” whispers will evolve into a full blown conversation.
If Clemson can duck tape an offensive line and continue to manufacture a run game to complement its lethal pass as it did against N.C. State, the conversation will be inevitable, the comparisons inescapable.
After a sampling of sages in the press box Saturday, men whose careers lap a generation or more, it became obvious what we’ve seen in Watson the past two weeks is very special, dropping passes to receivers like feeding quarters into a vending machine, running like a deer and leaping over defenders (the thought must make you wince) and having the calm and
presence of mind to pick receivers as if he’s playing a video game.
During Johnny Manziel’s freshman season one of the Dallas area papers ran a feature on the 10 greatest freshman quarterbacks. The list also included Jamelle Holloway, Michael Vick, Sam Bradford, Marcus Mariota, Robert Griffin III, Colt McCoy, Chad Henne and Terrelle Pryor. Naturally Manziel’s season was No.1.
Holloway led Oklahoma to a national championship in 1985 and Vick helped 1999 Virginia Tech to an undefeated season, but all the individual numbers are in reach. In two starts and virtually a third full game, Watson has passed for nearly 1,200 yards and 12 touchdowns, run for 139 yards and three touchdowns.
But it’s not about numbers which may be why Holloway and Vick have a decisive advantage. Holloway was the only one on he list to guide his team to a national championship as a freshman, and Vick’s team was undefeated.
That’s why what he’s done, and what Clemson has done these first five games are special for a program. It’s found a way to grow.
Everybody anticipated a great defense this season, potentially one of the best in the country, and for three quarters at Georgia, four quarters at Florida State and two here against North Carolina there was evidence it could be.
On Saturday it came together. Need only watch that last series of the first half, when penalties took N.C. State from the Clemson 39 to the 7, to know what that unit can deliver. “Sometimes the scoreboard doesn’t go our way, so let’s focus on how we play,” Swinney said. One bad quarter in Athens might have been forgotten if Clemson – with Watson at quarterback when it counted – could have found a way to win in Tallahassee.
“We’ve still got two-third of the season left,” Swinney said. “There’s so much opportunity.
“Win, lose or draw it’s about what’s next,” he said. “Obviously we didn’t start the way we wanted. We wanted to be 3-0. What do we do? Well, let’s go to the next game.
“I’m proud of them and we’ve kind of created some momentum. Anything can happen.”
It helps when you have Superman.