ESPN ranked the top 100 college quarterbacks of the 2000s, and it’s no surprise that Clemson legends Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence landed high on the list, while fellow Tiger great Tajh Boyd earned a well-deserved spot as well.

A two-time Heisman Trophy finalist, Watson nearly cracked the top five, coming in at No. 6.

Watson, who guided Clemson to consecutive College Football Playoff appearances — with the school’s second national championship in 2016 — led the Tigers to 28 wins over his final two seasons. He threw for 10,163 yards and 90 career touchdowns, while rushing for 1,934 yards and 26 more scores, and compiled a 32-3 record as a starter — at the time the best winning percentage in school history for a quarterback, later surpassed by Lawrence. Watson exited third in ACC history in total offense (12,094), behind only NC State’s Philip Rivers and Boyd.

“Remember when ‘Clemsoning’ meant ‘failing spectacularly on the big stage?’ No? That’s because Watson came to town and flipped Dabo Swinney’s program from good to elite,” ESPN’s Bill Connelly wrote. “He averaged 4,351 passing yards and 867 rushing yards in 2015-16, first leading the Tigers to the CFP title game, then winning it the next year. ‘Clemsoning’ now simply means ‘winning big.’”

Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield leads ESPN’s list at No. 1, with Auburn’s Cam Newton, Texas’s Vince Young, Florida’s Tim Tebow and Ohio State/LSU’s Joe Burrow rounding out the top five.

As for Lawrence, the 2020 Heisman Trophy runner-up, he just missed the top 10.

Lawrence came in at No. 11 behind Baylor’s Robert Griffin III (No. 10), Oregon’s Marcus Mariota (No. 9), Louisville’s Lamar Jackson (No. 8) and Texas A&M/Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray (No. 7).

Lawrence, who led the Tigers to a national championship as a true freshman in 2018, concluded his career 34-2 as a starter and exited as the winningest starting quarterback in Clemson history. He completed 66.6 percent of his career passes for 10,098 yards with 90 touchdowns and 17 interceptions, to go with 18 rushing touchdowns. He made five career College Football Playoff starts and exited with Clemson career records in career winning percentage (.944), pass efficiency rating (164.3), yards per passing attempt (8.87) and tied for the most wins against Top 25 opponents (nine).

“It was going to be almost impossible for Lawrence to meet the expectations set for him as an all-world recruit at Clemson. He surpassed them,” Connelly wrote. “The Tigers lost only twice in three years with him behind center, winning the 2018 national title and reaching two more CFPs. And he became one of the faces of a rising player advocacy movement as a junior as well.”

Meanwhile, Boyd checked in at No. 97 on ESPN’s list.

Boyd was a record-setting quarterback for the Tigers from 2010-13, setting school career marks in nearly every passing category, including completions (901), passing yards (11,904) and passing touchdowns (107) as well as in touchdown responsibility (133). The three-time All-ACC selection and 2012 AFCA first-team All-American won ACC Player of the Year in 2012, and he finished his career as a finalist for the Unitas and Manning Awards as one of Clemson’s team captains in 2013. He had a 32-8 career record as a starter, and was inducted into the Clemson Athletic Hall of Fame in 2024.

Boyd is now entering his sixth season on Clemson’s staff and his first as the team’s quarterbacks coach in 2026.

“Before Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence could lead Clemson to national titles, Boyd helped the program get off the mat,” Connelly wrote. “Running Chad Morris’ newfangled spread offense, Boyd threw for over 3,800 yards and produced a double-digit win total in three consecutive seasons.”