Deshaun Watson had eye of the Tigers, even with torn ACL

PHOENIX — Quarterback Deshaun Watson didn't have to risk it.

With a torn anterior cruciate ligament, those inside and outside the Clemson locker room would have understood if he had shut it down the rest of the season.

Watson, though, wasn't going to let a torn ACL keep him off the field against the Tigers' most heated rival.

So he played in the 2014 regular-season finale against South Carolina, completing 14 of 19 passes for 269 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran for two scores in a 35-17 victory.

Even as a freshman that season, Watson had garnered the respect of his teammates. That performance, however, took it to another level, making him the unquestioned leader entering this season.

"It was crazy how he did that with a torn ACL," Clemson defensive end Shaq Lawson said. "That sets an example a lot. We knew what kind of person he was and what kind of player he was and what kind of leader he was going to become."

Watson (6 feet 2 inches, 205 pounds) has led the No. 1 Tigers to the College Football Playoff National Championship, where they will play No. 2 Alabama at 5:30 p.m. PST Monday.

He also put himself into the Heisman Trophy race, getting invited to New York for the ceremony where Watson finished third. The winner was Alabama running back Derrick Henry.

"The Heisman is for people that have their own opinions," Watson said. "I can't control if they vote for me or not, I just have to do my part and play ball. It really doesn't matter to me."

Watson put up Heisman-like numbers, completing 68.2 percent of his passes for 3,699 yards and 31 touchdowns, with 12 interceptions. He also rushed for 1,032 yards and 12 touchdowns, averaging 5.5 yards per carry.

As the comeback from the injury showed, Watson knows how to handle adversity. He spent the early years of his life in a drug-infested neighborhood in Gainesville, Ga. Watson was 11 when he and his family moved into a Habitat for Humanity home in 2006.

"I think we're all molded by our experiences in life, and some people have more challenging experiences at an early time than others," Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. "But we're all going to have really challenging times in our life. It's just a matter of when. It's just so happened that as a young person he had to deal with a lot of things.

"And I think more than anything, it gave him a very unique perspective on life and this game than maybe some young people would have at that particular stage."

So playing with a torn ACL wasn't a challenging decision for Watson.

He not only played but played well and beat the Tigers' fiercest rival.

They haven't lost since, taking a 14-0 record into the showdown with Alabama.

"I knew what kind of team we had," Watson said. "We were motivated, and we knew we could play with anybody."

— Contact Mark Anderson at manderson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2914. Follow him on Twitter: @markanderson65.