ATLANTA – Dabo Swinney already thought Deshaun Watson was the best quarterback in the country.

At Thursday night’s College Football Awards, Watson won the Davey O’Brien Award. The ACC Player of the Year was named the best quarterback in the country over TCU’s Trevone Boykin and Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield.

“He’s more than just a great football player. He’s a great young man,” Swinney said. “This is just the beginning for him, an incredibly bright future. I’m glad we’ve got him back for at least another year.”

Through 13 games this season, Watson has passed for 3,512 yards with 30 touchdowns. His 159.56 rating is 11th best in the country.

“Usually, I’m never nervous before any kind of awards ceremony or game, but for some reason today I was,” Watson said. “It was a good nervous, but it means a lot to be the first player at Clemson to receive this award.”

Contray to what you might see on TV, Deshaun Watson actually gets nervous.

“My heart just started when he came out,” he said. “As he started to present the award, especially when the highlights were playing, my heart was beating fast and I was trying to breathe.”

Watson added, “It just happened so fast. I wasn’t expecting this award. I thought it was later on in the night.”

It was the first award presented in the 25th edition of ESPN’s show.

“It’s just something I’ve worked for. I thank my teammates and coaches for helping me achieve the award. Without those guys, I wouldn’t be in this position,” Watson said. “It’s pretty special.”

The attention now turns to Saturday night’s Heisman Trophy ceremony.

“I have two great guys that are up there with me, Derrick Henry and Christian (McCaffrey). I had a chance to meet those guys and it’s been great,” Watson said.