Clemson Football: How good can the Tigers be without Deshaun Watson?
Deshaun Watson led the Clemson football program to two straight ACC Championship’s and a National Championship. With him off to the NFL, the question becomes, can Clemson sustain that success without Watson?
When a player like Deshaun Watson comes through your program, success is an afterthought. It’s not until they leave that you realize how hard Championship’s are to come by. Take Florida post-Tim Tebow or Auburn post-Cam Newton, it became clear how instrumental those two individuals were to their respective programs once they left.
Be that as it may, I do not see Clemson having the typical drop off you see from a program that just lost their star quarterback. Reason being, the Tigers talent and depth at every other position on the field. Kudos to Dabo Swinney and his staff for building this team upon a solid foundation of recruiting.
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Here’s the issue. Clemson was a 10+ win team before Watson stepped foot on campus. Watson took them from good, to great, which is a very slim margin. He was like the secret ingredient that took Clemson over the top and put them in the National Championship conversation. While that is true, Brent Venables deserves much credit for the Tigers’ rise to elite status as well. Clemson’s defense has been one of the most formidable groups in the country on a yearly basis.
Outlook in 2017?
Clemson will not plummet to eight wins in 2017, however, I do not believe they will make it back to the College Football Playoff in their first season without Watson under center. This really comes down to the Tigers schedule this fall.
Clemson will travel on the road to face Louisville, Virginia Tech and NC State in 2017. Each of those teams has the talent to beat Clemson, as they all came within a touchdown of doing so last season. The Tigers will also face Auburn in week 2 and Florida State in week 11. I believe Clemson will split those games. I believe the Tigers will lose 1 game at the least and 2 at the most, giving them another 10 win season in 2017.
In 2014, Clemson’s first season post-Tajh Boyd, the Tigers finished the regular season 9-3. That team was not bad, in fact they had Deshaun Watson who ended up becoming the greatest quarterback to don a Clemson jersey. That being said, Watson was just a freshman – splitting time with veteran Cole Stoudt – and the Tigers had to face the likes of Georgia and Florida State on the road that year.
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If Clemson’s quarterback competition plays out similar to the one between Watson and Stoudt in 2014 – which I believe it will – than the 2017 season may follow the same course. Depending on who the Tigers lose to, they may still back into the ACC Championship.