Though spring practices might be over for Deshaun Watson, the real work is still going on.
Clemson’s All-American quarterback is hitting the back stretch of a class schedule that includes 19 credit hours extended over seven classes. Watson has two more weeks of quizzes, reports, research papers and exams before he can finally catch a real break.
“I don’t worry about it. I do my part and turn things in when teachers tell me to turn things in,” Watson said recently.
So why did Watson take such a heavy workload this spring? Simple, he wants to graduate in December.
“It is difficult at times. There are a lot of late nights and early mornings, but it’s something I wanted to do,” he said. “I had the opportunity, so why not take it? It’s been good so far for me.”
As good as Watson’s been on the field, he has been as equally as good in the classroom. After his freshman season at Clemson, he carried a perfect 4.0 grade point average. Though things became a little harder in the classroom his sophomore year, he still managed to keep his GPA above 3.0.
Watson now stands seven months away from graduating at Clemson, and he will do it in less than three years. Watson began classes at Clemson in January of 2014. One of Watson’s goals when he came to Clemson was to graduate before he started his pro career.
Of course many people, including myself, expect the Clemson signal caller to throw his name in the hat for the NFL Draft following the 2016 season.
“The hardest thing is just trying to bounce off all the work and make sure everything is on track,” Watson said about keeping up with class schedule. “I just have to make sure I turn everything in on time.”
So far so good, and, oh by the way, he also had a successful spring on the football field as he and the Tigers prepare to make another run at the national championship.
“Whatever it takes to be the best, that’s what I’m doing,” he said.
How does a guy who is already considered the best in the country get any better?
“I have to work on the whole thing. It was not perfect last year,” Watson said.
Watson’s right, he wasn’t perfect, but he was pretty close. He completed 333 of 491 passes for 4,104 yards and 35 touchdowns last season. He also rushed for 1,105 yards and 12 scores, while becoming the first player in FBS history to have at least 4,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing in the same season.
His 5,209 yards of total offense and his 47 total touchdowns set ACC records. His rushing total was a record for a Clemson quarterback in a single season.
Nationally, Watson ranked first in the nation in QBR (87.8), third in the nation on points responsible for with 282, fifth in completion percentage (.678), eighth in touchdown passes, eighth in total offense per game (347.3) and was 12th in passing efficiency at 156.3.
Watson was named the 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.
In the National Championship Game against Alabama, The Davey O’Brien and Manning Award winner had a National Championship Game record 405 yards passing as well as 73 yards rushing. His 478 yards of total offense against Alabama’s No. 2 ranked defense also set a record in the title game.
“There is always room to get better. I try to improve on everything,” Watson said.
And right now he is trying to improve in the classroom so he can graduate in December. So, he still has a little bit of work to do this spring.
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