Deshaun Watson might not be throwing touchdown passes to DeAndre Hopkins anymore at Houston, but the two former Clemson stars are still making headlines together.

Just a few days after Watson signed a four-year, $177 million dollar contract that will keep him with the Texans, Hopkins inked a two-year $54.5 million deal with the Arizona Cardinals, making him the highest paid non-quarterback in NFL history.

It is crazy to think “Little ole Clemson” has two of the highest paid players in NFL history.

“It definitely says we have recruited really good players and we have a great program here when it comes to development,” Swinney said.

Clemson has had at least one first-round draft choice seven of the last eight years. It is one of only three schools with at least one first-round pick in at least seven of the last eight drafts, alongside Alabama and Florida.

The Tigers’ seven selections in the 2020 NFL Draft gave Clemson at least six draft picks for the fourth time in five years. Clemson is one of only three schools, joining Alabama and Ohio State, with five or more picks in at least six of the seven most recent drafts.

The seven picks in 2020 gave Clemson a school-record 31 NFL Draft picks in the last five years, surpassing the 29 drafted across both the 2013-‘17 and 2015-‘19 drafts. Swinney (64) ranks second among active head coaches in total draft picks since the 2009 NFL Draft, trailing only Alabama’s Nick Saban.

“At the end of the day, the credit goes to the players. They have to put the work in,” Swinney said. “(Hopkins and Watson), we helped them, certainly, and helped them have the resources they needed and put other good people around them and put them in good schemes and things like that, but it still comes down to them. Those guys have to put the work in.”

Swinney remembers when Hopkins was barely 170 pounds when he came to Clemson from nearby Daniel High School, the local high school in Clemson. But he knew he was a star in the making because of his work ethic and his drive to succeed.

By the time Hopkins left Clemson after the 2012 season, he was one of the greatest receivers in Clemson history. He still holds the Clemson record for career touchdown receptions (27) and his 18 touchdown catches in 2012 are still a school record.

“He does not get where he is without putting the work in,” Swinney said. “This is a game of performance, not a game of potential. You have to earn it. The performance comes through putting the work in. Those things go together, and he worked hard in the weight room. I think he left here 212 pounds, really transformed his body, and grew as a receiver.

“He was more of an athlete when he got here. Great basketball player, great safety, he could have been a great safety and definitely could have been an NFL safety. He is tough, but he had to really develop as a receiver and we certainly helped him get a foundation. But he became a craftsman and put the work in to being great.”

Watson was also very skinny when he came to Clemson in 2014. He weighed 180 pounds. But like Hopkins, he put in the work and came the greatest quarterback, if not player, to ever wear the orange and white.

The Gainesville, Ga., native led the Tigers to the 2016 National Championship and also to the 2015 CFP National Championship Game. The Tigers won two ACC Championships thanks to Watson and he was the 2015 ACC Player of the Year and a two-time Heisman Trophy Finalist and Davey O’Brien Award winner as the nation’s best quarterback.

“Their work effort, their heart, their grind and their willingness to be coached and to just work on the little things at their position, become more knowledgeable, that is how they have got to where they are,” Swinney said. “We had our little part, but the credit goes to those two guys and their families.

“I am super happy for them. There is more to come from both of those guys. They are still young guys.”

Watson will begin his fourth season at Houston tonight when they taken on the Kansas City Chiefs to open the 2020 NFL season, while Hopkins and his new team, the Cardinals, open the new year at San Francisco on Sunday. Hopkins is beginning his eighth year in the NFL.

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