Morris says he almost stayed at Clemson because of Deshaun Watson

Morris and Watson talk on field after the loss to FSU.

by Tony Crumpton - Assoc. Editor - Sat Jan 17 11:53:02 GMT-04:00 2015

How hard was it for Chad Morris to leave Clemson for SMU? Very hard and even more so because of one star freshman quarterback named Deshaun Watson Deshaun Watson
Fr. Quarterback
#4 6-3, 204
Gainesville, GA
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"Yes it was tough," Morris said in recent interview with Fox Sports' Bruce Feldman. "Almost to the point where you don't take the job because of one kid type of deal."

Morris said that he had been recruiting Watson since his freshman year of high school and the two had developed a special bond.

"Very emotionally attached, obviously when you recruit a kid for as long as I did," Morris said. "I was recruiting him when he was finishing his freshman year in high school. His mother was very sick. She had had tongue cancer. She was in the hospital at the time and he was staying with his aunt, Aunt Sonya. So talking to him and Coach (Bruce) Miller along the way and we developed that relationship.

Morris said he knew Watson was special from the start and he spent many days with Watson trying to build that relationship.

"He comes to camp his freshman year," Morris said. " He was actually the second kid I had offered when I got to Clemson. First kid was a running back Tyshon DyeTyshon Dye
RS Fr. Running Back
#23 5-11, 214
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View Full Profile that we had. He comes to camp. He's all that. You can tell he is going to be really special. He finishes camp, stay 3 days with us at camp, and leaves camp. His basketball team is coming back the very next day to go to basketball camp there at Clemson and I was on vacation. I had a choice. I could either leave and go to the beach or I could choose to stay one more day and be there as he got off the bus and sitting in the basketball gym as he walks in. I chose to do that. That made a huge impact - that along with the fact of many, many cold nights in his gymnasium as a sophomore - me, Paula and my family - we would sit there and watch him play basketball. And there wouldn't be any other college coaches there, and I just kept thinking I hope this is going to be worth it. I hope this is going to be worth it. Well, it was worth it."

One of the things that makes Watson special is nothing seems to rattle him according to Morris.

"Because of his calmness nothing rattles him,' Morris said. "He is smooth. The game is slow. He sees things before they happen."

Watson and Morris remain in contact even though Morris has left Clemson.

"Doesn't mean we sever our relationship," Morris said. "It just means I am not going to coach him. He and I still communicate. We text, call and talk all the time. So we got a great relationship. That's not going to change. Just the fact of me not coaching him is tough. To watch someone else coach him and reap the benefit of getting him there, that's tough. But you always want what is best for Clemson, and Coach Swinney has done a great job with that program."