Watch Deshaun Watson’s Journey To The NFL

A Star Is Forged

Deshaun Watson’s path to the NFL has revealed a person with great consistency in character, work ethic, leadership, athletic talent, and an infectious smile. He has shown at each level that he can be the eye of the storm, calm and confident while leading his team to victory on the biggest stages and against the most formidable opponents.

In this article, and from three embedded videos, you’ll see that this player’s journey to the NFL was built on a foundation of the right attributes to be the superstar that the Houston Texans have been so desperately needing in order to reach that elusive championship.

Watson started at quarterback as a freshman in high school and as a true freshman at Clemson.

The Texans’ newest quarterback led his team, Gainesville High School, to the Georgia state championship his junior year. He also reached the state semi-finals his sophomore and senior year. Through his high school career, Watson set state records for total yards (17,134), total touchdowns (218), career passing yards (13,077), and career passing touchdowns (155). He also rushed for 4,057 yards and 63 touchdowns.

This video includes interviews of a young Watson during his senior year of high school, just after winning the state championship as a junior, and an interview with Watson's former high school coach, who talks about Watson's character, football knowledge, and preparation that led to being the only freshman he ever started at quarterback.

Road Renamed to “Deshaun Watson Drive”

This next video highlights a petition to rename the road leading up to Watson’s former high school from "Touchdown Drive" to "Deshaun Watson Drive" after his tremendous success at leading Clemson to the national title. It includes some good interviews of a former athletic director, as well as one of his teachers—a cancer survivor who Watson honored by writing her name across pink anti-glare stickers under his eyes for one of his football games.

Rivals’ “5-Star Recruit”

This is another good video from "Rivals," the only recruiting outfit to grade Watson as a dual-threat 5-star recruit coming out of high school. They talk about his character and significant ability at QB. They mention initial concerns with his arm strength (velocity), but then realized that he was holding back power in his throws to provide the necessary accuracy and touch to hit his receivers’ catch radius. That is a trait that is coveted at the NFL level, as “touch on the ball” combined with accuracy greatly outweighs an inaccurate big-armed cannon. That’s not to say that Watson doesn’t have the ability to zip a bullet when needed; he just realizes what is necessary to ensure the target has the best chance for making a reception.

I hope you enjoyed these videos as much as I did. Clearly this young man has all the right tangibles and intangibles to lead our Houston Texans to the promised land. The question is when it will happen.