Watson wins inaugural Hall of Fame award |
Greenville, South Carolina: April 20th, 2017, marks the 5th Annual South Carolina Football Hall of Fame (SCFHOF) Enshrinement Ceremony.
Deshaun Watson will be receiving the Inaugural Blanchard-Rogers Award presented by Hales Jewelers. The award was formerly known as the Collegiate Player of the Year.
This newly renamed award is formed by two Heisman Trophy winners with ties to the state, Felix “Doc” Blanchard and George Rogers. Doc Blanchard was the first football player with South Carolina ties to win the Heisman Trophy. He was born in McColl, SC, and went on to win the award in 1945 while playing for Army, while George Rogers, who was born in Georgia, won the award in 1980 playing for the University of South Carolina. AS well as the Heisman Trophy, Doc Blanchard and George Rogers are both inductees of the South Carolina Football Hall of Fame. George Rogers was inducted in 2013, while Doc Blanchard will be inducted this year in 2017. The Blanchard-Rodgers Trophy is in the process of being created. The trophy will be revealed on April 20th, 2017 at the Enshrinement Ceremony. The Blanchard-Rogers Award is given to the best collegiate football player with South Carolina ties. The Collegiate Player of the Year award was first given to Tajh Boyd in 2013; Vic Beasley in 2014, and Deshaun Watson, who will be the award’s first two-time winner. Watson is from Gainesville, Georgia. He played at Clemson as a true freshman in 2014. In his 2015 season he led the team to a 14-1 record, including an ACC Championship, Orange Bowl Championship and a National Championship game appearance. He finished as the first player in the history of college football to have over 4,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing, while having 47 total touchdowns. He was third in the voting for the Heisman Trophy, was the ACC Player of the Year, the Most Valuable Player of the ACC Championship game and the Orange Bowl, and was the Consensus first-team All-American quarterback. In the 2016 season, Deshaun Watson led his team a 14-1 record and victories in the ACC Championship, the Fiesta Bowl, and brings the National Championship back to the State of South Carolina. He completed 67% of his passes with 4,593 yards, 41 passing touchdowns, 629 yards rushing and 9 rushing touchdowns. He finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting and won the Davey O’Brien Award for the best college quarterback in the country for the second consecutive year. Deshaun Watson finished his college degree in three years and graduated in December 2016. He is eligible for the 2017 NFL Draft in late April, and is projected to be a high first round draft pick. At the 5th Anniversary Enshrinement Ceremony the SCFHOF will honor five Inductee Awards (including the new Legacy Inductee), the Blanchard-Rogers Award, and the Humanitarian of the Year. Watson, will be honored with Class of 2017 Inductees Doc Blanchard (Legacy), Charlie Brown, Fisher DeBerry, Levon Kirkland, and Dick Sheridan. The Ceremony will include a Q&A of the inductees, a silent auction, an open bar, and a dinner. Tony Blanchard, Doc Blanchard’s son, and George Rogers will attend the ceremony to support the new award. Before the Enshrinement Ceremony, there will be a golf tournament in the morning at Green Valley Country Club and a Sporting Clay event at an upstate location (TBA). Individual seats and group tables to the Enshrinement Ceremony, as well as foursomes to the golf tournament can be purchased at www.scfootballhof.org/shop The mission of the South Carolina Football Hall of Fame is to honor South Carolina football legends, support player career transitions, improve player safety and promote the game of football and the State of South Carolina. Learn more about the SCFHOF at scfootballhof.org and follow them on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @scfootballhof and on LinkedIn search “South Carolina Football Hall of Fame”. Congrats @DeshaunWatson4 @ClemsonFB for being 1st recipient of Blanchard-Rogers Award/Trophy presented by @HalesJewelers! @DavidMulugheta pic.twitter.com/ZxxSwzzUcw
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