GLENDALE, Ariz. — Following Monday’s heartbreaking loss to Alabama in the National Championship Game, Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson was asked, “Where do you most need to improve heading into next season?”
Without any hesitation, senior left guard Eric Mac Lain chimed in.
“Nowhere,” Mac Lain said.
Watson smiled and the reporters in the room laughed, but it was not a laughing matter. Mac Lain was being serious.
It’s hard to find a flaw in Deshaun Watson’s game. Thanks to his 405 passing yards against Alabama’s top-rated defense, Watson became the first player in FBS history to throw for 4,000 yards and run for 1,000 more in the same season.
The Crimson Tide had no answer for him as he threw four touchdown passes and ran for 73 yards. In all, Watson totaled 478 yards – a new championship game record.
“He’s special. He really is,” Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney said. “We had 550 yards of offense. I’m really pleased with how he played. That’s one of the things Coach (Nick) Saban was talking to me about after the game.
“This guy, he’s special. Again, he’s got great toughness, great heart, a great mind for the game, and just made some huge plays all the way to the end. What a great throw and catch by he and (Jordan) Leggett on the last touchdown there.”
Watson completed 30 of 47 passes and four touchdowns to only one interception. The sophomore helped Clemson rack up a season-high 550 total yards against Alabama’s vaunted defense, while converting on 6 of 14 third downs.
“We thought, to be honest with you, that we could do a better job against their quarterback than what we did. He did a fantastic job in the game,” Saban said.
Like anyone that has played Watson, it was difficult for Alabama to contain him and force him to stay in the pocket. It was almost as if Watson was one step ahead of the Crimson Tide all night.
“You know, we like to play more man-to-man, but when you play against such an athletic quarterback and you’re playing man-to-man, nobody is looking at the quarterback so that makes it tough, and when we did play zone tonight we didn’t do a very good job,’ we didn’t tackle very well, break on the ball like we needed to. He extended some plays and made some big plays, but the guy is a fantastic player.”
As for the original question, “Where do you most need to improve heading into next season?”
“I mean, just my whole game. I mean, it will really start when we get back to school, start watching this film, fix some of the mistakes I made and just get back rolling,” Watson said. “Putting on some weight, getting in the weight room some more, and taking that next step in my game and level. I talked to Derrick Henry after the game, and we’re going to try to link up after the off-season and learn from him and just really build that relationship. He’s the Heisman winner, national champion, so I’m trying to do the same thing and just learn from guys that have been there and have done it.”