When he watched Monday night’s National Championship Game between Clemson and Alabama, former Ole Miss and New Orleans Saints quarterback Archie Manning was more impressed with what he saw from the losing team than what he saw from the team that actually won.
But Deshaun Watson has that kind of pull. Though the Tigers lost a heartbreaker to Alabama, 45-40, Watson put on a clinic against arguably the nation’s top rated defense.
The Clemson quarterback completed 30 of 47 passes for 405 yards and four touchdowns, while running for another 73 yards. His 478 total yards set a new record for total offense in a National Championship Game, passing the mark set by Texas’ Vince Young 10 years ago.
“He may not have won the title but he showed the world what an outstanding talent he is and what a tremendous competitor he is,” Manning said.
That’s one reason why Watson was named the 2015 winner of the Manning Award, presented by the Allstate Sugar Bowl as the top quarterback in the nation.
“He has a great future. I know Atlantic Coast Conference defensive coordinators are not looking forward to facing him next year and everything he possess in a football game,” Manning said. “He is really a good looking player.”
Watson completed 333 of 491 passes for 4,104 yards and 35 touchdowns. He also ran for 1,105 yards and 12 touchdowns. His 5,209 yards of total offense and his 47 total touchdowns set ACC records for a single season. His rushing total was also a record for a Clemson quarterback in one season.
Nationally, Watson ranked first in the nation in QBR (87.8), third in the nation on points responsible for (282), fifth in completion percentage (.678), eighth in touchdown passes (35), eighth in total offense per game (347.3) and 12th in passing efficiency (156.3).
Even with all of that, Watson says he still has some room for improvement and he will go back and watch every game and will reevaluate himself.
“I want to fix the interceptions I threw,” he said. “Some were bad luck or something I really could not control, like getting hit when throwing and stuff like that. Some were kind of poor decisions. Some throws I kind of overthrew and kind of rushed. It all starts with your foot work and trusting your feet. It is about the guys around you that are protecting you, and getting the timing down with your receivers.
“It’s just the little things like that, and making sure with my mechanics and making sure I’m real polished with that and reading defenses. I think I do a good job of reading defenses, but I want to get better and make sure when I first go out there and see a defense I can tell right away what they are trying to get into.”
Watson is the first Clemson quarterback to win the Manning Award, which is now in its 12th year. In December, he was also the recipient of the Davey O’Brien Award as the nation’s top quarterback. On Wednesday he was named the recipient of the Archie Griffin Award, which is given to the nation’s Player of the Year.
Watson is the first sophomore to win the Manning Award.
“Deshaun Watson had a truly memorable season and he has shown himself to be worthy of being recognized with an award bearing the Manning name,” said Carey Wicker, the President of the Sugar Bowl Committee.
The Manning Award was created by the Allstate Sugar Bowl to honor the college football accomplishments of Archie, Peyton and Eli Manning. It is the only quarterback award that takes into consideration the candidates’ bowl performances in its balloting.
The award is voted on by a panel of local and national media, as well as each of the Mannings.
In addition to the Manning Award, Watson was named as a consensus All-America quarterback, was third in the Heisman Trophy balloting, was the Most Valuable Player of the Atlantic Coast Conference and was the MVP of the ACC Championship game and the Orange Bowl.
The other finalists for this year’s Manning Award were: Brandon Allen (Arkansas), Trevone Boykin (TCU), Connor Cook (Michigan State), Brandon Doughty (Western Kentucky), Kevin Hogan (Stanford), Chad Kelly (Ole Miss), Paxton Lynch (Memphis), Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma), Dak Prescott (Mississippi State), Keenan Reynolds (Navy) and Greg Ward, Jr., (Houston).
If you haven’t already order your copy today of Guts & Glory – Tales of Clemson’s Historic 2015 Football Season to help you celebrate and remember this special season.