ESPN ranked the top 80 college football quarterbacks of the 2000s (subscription required), and it’s no surprise that former Clemson stars Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence are high on the list.

Watson, a two-time Heisman Trophy finalist, checked in at No. 6 on ESPN’s list of the 80 best QBs of the 2000s, which was put together by Bill Connelly.

Watson, who guided Clemson to consecutive College Football Playoff appearances — with the school’s second National Championship in 2016 — led Clemson to 28 wins over his final two seasons. He threw for 10,163 yards and 90 career touchdowns, and compiled a 32-3 record as a starter.

“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,” 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.””

As for Lawrence, the 2020 Heisman Trophy runner-up, he just missed the top 10 of Connelly’s list, coming in at No. 11.

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. 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 tying 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.”

Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield took the top spot in Connelly’s ranking, with Auburn’s Cam Newton, Texas’s Vince Young, Florida’s Tim Tebow and LSU’s Joe Burrow rounding out the top five.

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