By Ed McGranahan.

There was something about the kid that impressed Robert Smith two years before Deshaun Watson arrived at Clemson University.

Watson committed on signing day 2012 after his sophomore season at Gainesville (Ga.) High, yet each of the next two summers he attended Coach Dabo Swinney’s camp for deeper examination of a Clemson offense that was similar to what he had been running at home.

“I thought that kid was special before he stepped on this campus,” said Smith, the senior free safety and heart of the Clemson secondary.

“I didn’t know who he was or where he was from or anything, (but) he immediately caught my eye,” he said. “I’m looking at him, and I’m like, ‘This is not an average kid.’

“When I heard he had an offer, I told guys, ‘That kid is going to be good.’ Just by his demeanor, footwork, mechanics, he seemed like he was (ready) for college.”

Rarely if ever does hope approach hype, which likely explains why Clemson coaches went with the prudent – perhaps safer – choice and opened the season with a rarely used senior at quarterback rather than the enormously talented freshman less than a year out of high school.

After losing at Georgia and Florida State and effectively scuttling hope for a berth in the ACC title game, there’s a sentiment that order was restored after Watson came off the bench in Tallahassee, Fla., and wrested the starting job from Cole Stoudt. Even in defeat Watson was named ACC rookie of the week after completing 19 of 28 passes for 266 yards and rushing for 30 more against the defending national champion and the nation’s top-ranked team.

Today he’ll debut at home as Clemson’s starter against North Carolina.

“I told a few of my friends this spring that I have never had a freshman like Deshaun Watson,” Swinney said, “… Sammy Watkins included.”

There have been players who stoked anticipation to an incendiary level. DaQuan Bowers was the nation’s No. 1 recruit and C.J. Spiller the top
running back. Among the quarterbacks Willy Korn, Kyle Parker, Tajh Boyd and Chad Kelly were “elite” level prospects.

And before recruiting went viral there probably hadn’t been a quarterback of that ilk at Clemson since Steve Fuller nearly 40 years ago. Caught in a recruiting tug-of-war, Fuller did not sign until a month before practice began in August. Ironically, Watson was on campus in January after his senior season in Gainesville.

Two-time ACC player of the year and a member of the Clemson Ring of Honor since 1994, Fuller’s agreed to permit Watson to wear his number 4, which was “retired” at the 1979 spring game, even though he’d denied it to others.

His maturity may trump his talent. Watson was forced to grow up quickly when his mother was diagnosed with a cancer that required her tongue be removed. He played through many of the scariest moments during his junior season in high school. While she was hospitalized he led Gainesville to a state championship, accounting for 5,400 yards and 74 touchdowns.

“He is way wiser than his years,” Swinney said. “You have no idea how it is going to transfer into game situations when all you have is practice.

“He has been incredible so far with his opportunities.”

Offensive coordinator Chad Morris virtually wore the tread off a set of tires to recruit Watson. He had been blessed with receivers like Watkins and DeAndre Hopkins and Boyd at quarterback, but this was the prototype player to run his offense.

“Sammy was a special freshman but he played wide out, (and) that is a whole different deal than having to process the things you do as a quarterback,” Swinney said. “To see how Watson was able to absorb what we do this spring was amazing to me. There was very little transition for that guy in any area. There is usually a transition in some area for these kids when they come in.

“For Tajh, he had a tremendous transition he had to make just with a knowledge standpoint,” he recalled. “With this guy, it was like working with a guy that had been there for years. It is incredible.”

His new teammates are impressed though unsurprised by how quickly Watson acclimated.

“Maybe he surprised some of you but it didn’t surprise us,” said senior defensive tackle Grady Jarrett. “It was very impressive. He’s a guy who doesn’t get fazed. He’s going to be a really great player.”

His coach at Gainesville predicted Watson would acclimate quickly. Bruce Miller had plucked Watson, “as skinny as you could get,” off the middle school team and started him as a freshman. Miller remembered him haunting the film room, figuring out a defense in less than 15 minutes. As a senior, Miller said, “I had no idea what we were running half the
time because he was checking off out there.

“I’d ask the guys upstairs what we were running, and they’d say ‘I’d don’t know, but it’s probably better than what we gave him,’” Miller laughed. “I got the backup quarterback at Alabama and I wouldn’t let him do that, but (Watson) would see something and get us out of a bad play into a good one.”

Smith marveled at Watson’s intent on fitting in early by his investment of time in learning the nuances before he got to Clemson.  “When he got here he knew the playbook, he knew the terminology,” said Smith, a high school quarterback in a similar spread scheme. “He didn’t have to come to camp, but he came because he wanted to know the playbook so he would be ready. That says a lot about him.”

Jarrett liked Watson’s cool in the most intense, hostile environment he’s likely to see until next season. “He doesn’t look like he’s panicking or anything.”

Swinney cautioned any rush to declare Watson a finished product. “I am sure there will come a time when he will act like a freshman,” he said. “At this point, he has not been overwhelmed at all.

“I just want to see him continue to improve, play consistent and take care of the ball,” he said. “What he did the other night was amazing.

“He took care of the ball in that environment. He made some big time throws. He was very poised.”

And for Clemson, the hope may exceed the hype.