NEWSLETTER
Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney isn’t mincing words with regards to quarterback Deshaun Watson, and the message is simple.
Do not pass on this quarterback.
In a video shared by Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com/Cleveland Plain Dealer, the national championship-winning coach threw bouquets of praise at his former star quarterback.
#Clemson's Dabo Sweeney says If #Browns Hue Jackson passes on Deshaun Watson at 1 he's "passing on Michael Jordan" pic.twitter.com/OLxZGwrliD
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) January 24, 2017
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“He’s humble, the same guy every day and always ready. He comes to every meeting prepared. That’s how you change things,” Swinney said. “You change a culture through, for me, it’s through discipline and recruiting and staffing and all that stuff. For them, it’s decision-making, it’s who you pick. And I’m just telling you, if they pass on Deshaun Watson, they’re passing on Michael Jordan. I’m just telling you. I don’t know what the heck I’m talking about. I’m just an old funky college coach, but Deshaun Watson is the best – by a long shot.”
Maybe that seems a bit much, but you’d certainly expect Watson’s coach to have a particular affection for his star player, especially after he helped the team win a national championship. And, for what it’s worth, that does highlight at least one similarity between Jordan and Watson: both were star players who scored the game-winning points on national championship teams. Beyond that similarity, however, the rest must be earned by Watson in the huddle.
Now if Watson is everything he was on the Clemson campus for Swinney when he joins the NFL, then you can start making whatever comparison you want.
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The Cleveland Browns select first overall in the draft, and it seems that Watson is very much on their radar, even if coach Hue Jackson expressed disappointment that Watson passed on an offer to play in this week’s Senior Bowl, where he would have had a chance to work closely with Jackson (Cleveland.com). The 49ers, also in need of a quarterback, pick second.
Maybe Watson will have something in common with Jordan on draft day if he gets passed by two teams before being picked by Chicago with the No. 3 overall pick. And if he does turn out to be the next generational star in Chicago, well, that would be just fine.
Brett Taylor contributed to this post.
