Former Clemson Tigers Football Star Lands on Impressive List

A former Clemson Tigers star has landed on the top 25 college football players of the 21st century list.

Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson (4) celebrates with teammate Clemson defensive lineman Christian Wilkins (42) during the fourth quarter of the ACC Championship game in Charlotte, North Carolina. / Ken Ruinard / USA TODAY NETWORK

Quarterback is the most important position on the football field. The Clemson Tigers have been fortunate enough over the last few years to have some great players at the position running their offense.

Cade Klubnik and D.J. Uiagalelei had some massive shoes to fill following in the footsteps of Trevor Lawrence and Deshaun Watson. Both players led Clemson to a national championship, going down in history as two of the best to ever do it for the program.

However, only one of them was recognized as one of the best college football players of the 21st century. That would be Watson, who was part of ESPN’s “Top 25 Players of the 21st Century” list that was released.

Just missing the list was Lawrence. He was mentioned among the first 10 out list. Other college quarterback stars on that list are Oregon’s Marcus Mariota and Baylor’s Robert Griffin III.

Watson came in at No. 16 on the list. He is one of eight quarterbacks who made the list. Behind him are Lamar Jackson at No. 20 and Kyler Murray at No. 18. Ahead of him are Joe Burrow, Tim Tebow, Vince Young, Cam Newton and Baker Mayfield, coming in at Nos. 9, 6, 4, 3 and 2 respectively.

“Under Dabo Swinney, Clemson was an intriguing but frustrating program when Watson showed up on campus. It was a national powerhouse, Alabama's equal, when Watson left. He tantalized as a freshman before tearing his ACL, but in his final two seasons the Tigers went 28-2, losing a down-to-the-wire classic against Bama in the 2015 national title game, then winning one in 2016. He threw for 8,697 yards and 76 touchdowns in those two seasons and, despite the knee issues, rushed for 1,734 yards and 21 scores in that span as well. He was the first guy to combine 4,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in a season, and the final pass of his career was a title-winning touchdown. Hard to top that,” Bill Connelly of ESPN wrote.

The production that Watson provided the Tigers on the field was exceptional. Along with all of the statistics, he took home the Davey O’Brien Award in 2015 and 2016. He was top three in the Heisman Trophy voting both seasons as well.

In 2015, he was a consensus All-American, ACC Player of the Year and was on the All-ACC First Team. All of those numbers and accolades were enough for Watson to warrant a spot on this list, but what cemented his standing was the 2016 national championship.

That is the accomplishment that not only put him on the map but the program as a whole. As Connelley noted, Clemson announced their presence as a college football powerhouse on the level of other blueblood programs.

After his career with Clemson was completed, Watson headed to the NFL. He was the No. 12 pick of the Houston Texans in the 2017 NFL Draft. Some off-the-field transgressions have marred his professional career recently, but his success in college certainly warranted the spot he received on the top 25 list.