WATSON DESHAUN’S LEGACY
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I have seen several outstanding players in my more than 40 years in the sports information industry.
During my last year at Notre Dame, 1977, Joe Montana was the starting quarterback and I was one of the people charged with organizing his interview requests. The Fighting Irish won the national championship that season with a victory over previously undefeated and top-ranked Texas in the Cotton Bowl.
On gameday, Montana was the most concentrated player on the field despite his generally modest demeanour and dislike of attention. And nobody was better when it came to a last drive with a few minutes remaining. It was all within his control.
Working with Deshaun Watson heading the Tigers this year gave me the impression that I had travelled back in time. Similar to Montana, Watson fulfilled media inquiries and provided an excellent programme representation by taking the necessary actions rather than chasing the spotlight.
The parallels persisted in terms of on-field performance. He guided the Tigers to two touchdown drives in the last seven minutes of Clemson’s 42-36 triumph over Louisville, which was the game’s historic comeback.
In Clemson’s 37-34 triumph over a Seminole squad that completed the season in the top 10, there was the 34-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Leggett with 2:06 left at Florida State.
Last but not least, Clemson defeated Alabama 35–31 thanks to “the drive for the ages,” which ended with a touchdown pass to Hunter Renfrow with just a second remaining.
The last drive was fantastic, right? It resulted in Clemson winning the national title.That is the height of epicness!
However, it was against Alabama, a team that had only been surpassed by Notre Dame in the 1940s—winning four national titles in the preceding seven years. The Crimson Tide had defeated top-25 teams 16 times in a row, an FBS record. They had also won 26 games in a row. It was directed towards head coach Nick Saban, who has five national titles in his career, and his defence, which is thought to be the best in a long time.
