It didn’t take much convincing. And why should it?

Deshaun Watson, the best play-maker Clemson’s got, told the Tigers’ offensive brain-trust that he wanted the ball in his hands down the stretch at Syracuse. Dabo Swinney, Jeff Scott and Tony Elliott obliged.

“It was just in the heat of the moment,” Watson said on Monday. “I just wanted the ball in my hands…that’s the type of player I am. When it comes to crunch time, put the ball in my hands and let me make a decision, so it was just one of those games. I wanted it and they gave it to me.”

Before the Heisman Trophy candidate matter-of-factly recounted his side of the story, Scott shared a coach’s perspective.

“I think that right there, from your quarterback, especially a talented guy like him, that says a lot that he’s wanting to carry the ball,” Scott said.

Watson rushed for a game-high 105 yards on Saturday. He averaged 7.5 yards per carry and scored a touchdown on a 3-yard scamper.

Three of his carries were on third-downs in the second half.

“I just walked up to coach Swinney and coach Scott and just tell them, ‘Hey, give me the ball. I want it.’ They’re like, ‘Alright, we’re giving it to you.’ That’s pretty much it,” Watson said. “We have a great relationship and communicate well and they know what I want the ball in my hands.”

For the season, Watson is second on the team with 598 yards and five scores.

“He’s got so many different ways he can run it, not all of those are designed quarterback runs,” Scott said. “Some of them, he has the ability to run if he sees certain looks and it’s just one of the three choices he has during the plays. His ability to run has been a difference-maker for our offense this year.”

Watson’s willingness to run the ball on Saturday certainly helped make a difference in The Carrier Dome.

“You could see that look in his eyes,” Scott said, “So that was pretty good to see.”

Swinney, Scott and Elliott will continue to allow their star quarterback to take the ball on designed runs. After all, he’s appeared in all 10 games this season.

“I think one thing we’re very pleased with is the durability that he’s shown throughout the — it wasn’t a major question with him coming out of high school, because he didn’t really get hurt in high school,” Scott said. “Obviously, last year, had a few of those injuries that popped up.

“Early on in the year, we weren’t as aggressive running him, knew he’d get a certain number of carries on his own, just on scrambles.”

They hope he’ll have five more games to do more of that this season.