CLEMSON FOOTBALL

Watson was ranked #18 overall in the country for 2015
Watson was ranked #18 overall in the country for 2015

Watson ranked as a Top 20 CFB Player for 2015


by - Assoc. Editor -

Clemson sophomore quarterback Deshaun Watson Deshaun Watson
So. Quarterback
#4 6-2, 205
Gainesville, GA

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was ranked the #18th best player in college football by Athlon Sports on Wednesday.

The rankings were based on the following factors: pro potential, positional importance, college statistics and awards, projections for 2015 and coaching changes or personnel losses.

"Even though play-caller Chad Morris left Clemson to be the head coach at SMU, the Tigers hope the offense won’t miss a beat behind Watson," Athlon Sports said. "Before suffering a torn ACL against Georgia Tech, Watson threw for 1,466 yards and 14 scores. Assuming Watson stays healthy, he should make a push for All-American honors this year."

In his rookie campaign, Watson completed 67.9% of his passes for a tremendous quarterback rating of 188.57. Another superlative is that he had a nation's best 10.7 yards per pass attempt.

Clemson sophomore defensive back Mackensie Alexander was listed as a player that barely missed out on the Top 50 overall rankings.

Other ACC players included were Pittsburgh's James Conner (#34 overall), Pittsburgh's Tyler Boyd (#28 overall), Virginia Tech's Kendall Fuller (#6 overall) and Florida State's Jalen Ramsey (#3 overall). Florida State's Dalvin Cook was removed from the rankings due to the uncertainly of his status for 2015.

One other interesting note - Ohio State had five players on the list (10% of the entire rankings).

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