JEROME SOLOMON
After winning it all in high school and college, Deshaun Watson craves title trifecta
A champ in high school and college, Watson craves a pro crown.
You cannot talk about the Texans — their current prospects, future possibilities, Super Bowl aspirations — without addressing the Red Elephant in the room. Red Elephant, Tiger, Texan. • Deshaun Watson. • The legend wants to be legendary. The champion wants to be a champion. • And when Watson talks about winning a Super Bowl, he envisions a historic run with the Texans. Something greater than most would imagine. • Watson tends to dream big.
“I’m trying to pull a big three,” Watson said. “I won a state championship, I won a national championship, so of course I’m trying to get a Super Bowl.
“I’m trying to, of course, be legendary. That’s my word since college, and for me to be that, I have to win a Super Bowl and definitely win it with the Houston Texans.
“We’ve never won one here before, and we haven’t even come on the brink of winning one. We’ve got to get to that game before that, and then of course we can think about that. But yeah, I’m trying to create history and continue that and make it a dynasty.”
A dynasty? With the Texans?
You’d sooner convince people that elephants can fly.
Then again, Watson has at times been a flying Red Elephant, a flying Tiger, and a flying Texan.
In his second college game at Clemson, a week after he threw a school-record six touchdown passes in running up 50 points in his first start as a true freshman, Watson went airborne with a spreadlegged hurdle over North Carolina State cornerback Jack Tocho.
The vault from the 3-yard line to a safe landing 4 yards into the end zone for a Tigers touchdown was a “wow” moment to behold. For most.
Donna Miller was impressed, certainly, but it’s not like she was watching something she hadn’t seen before.
“My wife looked over at me and said, ‘Aw, we’ve seen him do that in high school. That’s no big thing,’ ” Bruce Miller said with a chuckle.
Miller, now allegedly retired but unable to stay away from coaching high school football, was Watson’s coach at Gainesville (Ga.) High School, where as a junior Watson led the Red Elephants to the school’s first and only state championship.
Miller has a vault of highflying Watson memories. Of Watson doing the unthinkable, the unimaginable. Yet he is still amazed when Watson eludes defenders or makes incredible leaps for the end zone in the NFL.
When Watson burst out of the grasp of two free pass rushers in a wild-card playoff matchup against Buffalo last season, then connected with Taiwan Jones on a 34-yard play to set up a game-winning field goal in overtime, Miller thought: “Unbelievable.”
“I mean, he was sacked,” Miller said, “How did he get out of that? I texted one of our coaches, and he replied, ‘He just does it.’
“He’s physically tough, but he’s mentally tough. The tougher the situation, the more he seems to bear down. Deshaun growing up was very observant of what he wanted to do. You could tell he wanted to be special.”
That goes for on and off the field. Watson has always tried to lead by example, taking care to project an image that fits his spiritual beliefs.
He knows others are watching; he wants them to look. He wants to inspire.
“Football has definitely opened my eyes, and it’s the main priority right now. But football can only last so long, so what can I do outside of football?” he said. “How can I use this platform that the Lord has put me in to be able to share and touch other people across the world?
“After I’m done with football, I definitely want to be able to travel the world and continue to inspire people and motivate people and use my platform and testimony and the things that I accomplish in this football time to be able to help other people’s lives and continue to grow this world and make it a better place.”
There is no question that as the driving force to state and national championships, Watson has made teams he played on better.
“He means an opportunity to win every game,” J.J. Watt said.
In his two full seasons as a starter, the Texans have gone 11-5 and 10-5. The 1-2 record in the playoffs isn’t anywhere near what Watson expects.
The trifecta the 24-year-old
Watson seeks is a rare accomplishment. Joe Namath and Joe Montana are the only quarterbacks to start on national championship and Super Bowl-winning teams.
In high school, Namath led Beaver Falls (Pa.) to a state championship. Montana, who didn’t become a starter until midway through his junior year, did not win state in football but did star on a Ringgold High (Pa.) state championship basketball team.
Watson, who started the first game of his freshman year of high school 10 years ago this week, finished the 11th grade as a state champion. Gainesville had advanced to six previous state finals but had never claimed the title.
Watson became the all-time leading passer in Georgia high school football history in the championship game. And with more yards and more touchdowns than any player ever, he still had a season left.
When then-Clemson offensive coordinator Chad Morris started recruiting Watson, he told Miller that if the Tigers signed him, they would win a national championship while he was there.
“I remember him telling me that, but I sure didn’t believe him,” Miller said. “I looked at him like, ‘Are you crazy?’ ”
Miller thought about that look the night Watson showed so much poise in leading Clemson to a last-second game-winning touchdown against Alabama in the 2017 national championship game.
“He always seems to be at the right place at the right time, making the right things happen for his team,” Miller said. “Now he’s in the NFL, and there are 32 teams, and the competitive level is at the highest it can be.
“Well, that suits him just fine. He just seems to perform well no matter what the situation is. It’s almost like he thrives on the pressure. And he’s always been that way.
“Been flying high since he was a freshman and threw three touchdowns against the three-time defending state champions in his first game.”
A high flyer destined to win championships.
For the Red Elephants. For the Tigers. And next up … the Texans.