The Two-Year Watson Window

Apr 4, 2015, 2:28 PM

I saw Buck Belue speak at the Savannah QB Club this past December. Belue surprised me by making a few unprompted positive comments about Clemson and D-Wat for the primarily Dawg boosters. He said he had seen some D-Wat high school games in person and D-Wat was special both in his ability and temperament, and Clemson had an opportunity to make some waves with Watson behind center.

If D-Wat plays extraordinarily like we believe he will, Deshaun Watson will likely have a two-year window at Clemson before registering for the NFL draft. So what will this mean? If Watson can stay healthy, these are some of the outcomes I expect:

- A healthy Mike Williams will become a star. Williams will catch many on-the-mark deep balls.

- A healthy Artavis will also become a star. With a DB and S watching Mike Williams, Artavis will have the entire field to maneuver and wreak havoc.

- Leggett will have All-ACC potential ... what Leggett does with it is anyone's guess. If Leggett is not consistently all-in and does not bring it with his blocking, then look for Milan Richard or another TE to put Leggett back on the bench.

- Wayne Gallman will become a star ... and if he can catch and become a 3-down back, an even bigger star.

- The O-Line is the most interesting and critical position. Crowder could be a 3-year starter. The balance of our senior linemen will begin some rotations with Hyatt, Fruhmorgen and the other frosh by mid-season. This is critical as these O-linemen must be ready on Game 1 of the 2016-17 season as this will likely be Watson's last hurrah.

- Watson's notoriety will mushroom from a whisper to an explosion with a big win on the road against
Louisville then a big home win against ND. The week after ND will be a trap game at home against a strong GT squad.

- The Defense will benefit from the Offense keeping them off the field.

- Clemson's orange paw will dramatically grow in popularity from Jacksonville, FL to Charlotte, NC and beyond. People love a winner. Jersey and hat sales will grow ten-times.

- Admittance to Clemson will become increasingly difficult. People love a winner.

- Dabo will continue to grow along with the Clemson brand. His passion will be known nationally and his approach will continue to mature as he grows from gung-ho to a budding statesman for the game. Our O-coordinators and Venables will also become hot commodities.

- Clemson will be featured in some big-time (Natl Playoff?) bowl games.

Much to look forward to and many unknowns ahead in the 2015-16 pigskin season. And there will be some pressure on Dabo and D-Wat and our players and coordinators. This is a positive. Dabo will downplay expectations with an "aw-shucks, we need to work harder, we have a long way to go" approach which is what he needs to do. To paraphrase Mr. Lightbulb Bill, what say you?