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NFL draft: Defenders (and a coach) on how to stop Clemson QB Deshaun Watson
Clemson QB Deshaun Watson might have turned down a chance to play at the Senior Bowl, where he would have been far and away the best quarterback among the six who showed up.
“His tape speaks for itself,” Clemson linebacker Ben Boulware said, not understanding some of the criticism Watson received for not playing in Mobile, Ala. “He’s done enough.”
Boulware expanded his snapshot of Watson as a “pretty shy guy” who “wasn’t going to say much.” But Boulware said Watson’s leadership was seen and felt in a different way.
“By his actions. By how he worked every day. By how he composed himself. By just the man he is,” Boulware said. “I am probably more the rah-rah guy. But there’s definitely different types of leadership. I am more the vocal guy. He just led by his actions. People saw him working and grinding on a daily basis and followed suit.”
That’s the inside look of perhaps the most hotly debated 2017 NFL draft prospect. But several of the defenders practicing and playing in the game last week faced Watson in college as opponents and know how special a college quarterback he was.
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We wanted to know: What was their game plan against him? What traits of Watson were most impressive? And do they think Watson will be a good NFL quarterback? We asked five defensive players — and one college head coach — who made the trip to Mobile and faced Watson what they thought.
GAMEPLAN AGAINST CLEMSON
Boston College DB John Johnson: (Clemson defeated BC, 56-10)“We had to be on top of our scheme and not get out of phase. You leave that crack against him, and he will gut you. We tried to guess a little of what they were running [based on] formation, part of the field, whatever. They ran some stuff we expected and we did a pretty good job of it.”
Miami (Fla.) CB Corn Elder: (Clemson defeated Miami, 58-0, in 2015) “We knew we’d have to just try to slow him down. You’re not stopping him for four [quarters]. He’s an exceptional player. I think he’s the best quarterback in the country and the best I faced. We wanted to make other guys beat us, so make him hand off or make him throw short.”
Auburn head coach Gus Malzahn: (Clemson defeated Auburn, 19-13)“When you’re playing a very good offense like them, you have to try to take away something. We really wanted to take away the run game. That was really our whole gameplan. Take away their run game, make them beat us throwing the football. Of course, they did a super job. They can throw it. Deshaun made some plays now — specifically one on fourth down. He’s a great player.”
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Auburn DB Rudy Ford: (Clemson defeated Auburn, 19-13)“We had a simple gameplan. We did that on purpose. Deshaun is a great dual-threat quarterback. But we felt like if we watched enough film, we could get a feel for what they were trying to do in certain [situations]. That was a big part of it, knowing their [tendencies].”
Alabama DT Dalvin Tomlinson: (Clemson defeated Alabama, 35-31)“We had great faith in our ability to stop the run. We’d stopped the run all season. So we tried to collapse the pocket and close things in on him. Sometimes if you do that and you force the quarterback outside, you can let your outside guys get that rush. But we felt we could keep him in the pocket and really close in on him and get to him that way, get sacks, and we did do that for the most part.”
Florida State CB Marquez White: (Clemson defeated FSU, 37-34)“We just knew he tended to run the ball a little bit more in big games. It’s hard to gameplan against him. He just makes so many plays, man. I think he’s one of the better players in our conference and in the country. I think the ACC doesn’t get enough credit, and I was rooting for them to beat Alabama.”
Elder: “You have to play a lot of zone. He’s a dual-threat quarterback. He’s really hard to stop [as a runner.] But he’s really a great pocket passer. He can throw on the run, too, so he can do it all. He’s going to make plays regardless of what you do. That’s one of those guys where you go into a game thinking, ‘OK, we might just have to go up and down the field and just hope you score one more time than him.’ As a defender, I don’t like those guys very much. [laughs]
Johnson: “I think you’re backing down if you just play zone against them. You can challenge those guys. You lose if you back down against them and just try to play it safe. I think if you just sit back, that’s where they get you. You take your shots knowing you’re going to give up some plays, and that’s the way to beat them.”
White: “You have to play more man than zone. But you still have to cover. We didn’t just sit back, you know? You still have to cover those guys tight in zone, too. We mixed in man, mixed in safe pressure, zone blitz, things like that. He did a great job against us. He just figured things out against us.”
WHAT MAKES WATSON SPECIAL
White: “He’s a phenomenal player. Great competitor too. When we got to him, he just kept coming for more. That was obvious. He brings the best out of everybody.”
Malzahn: “The special quarterbacks have that ‘it’ factor. They have the ability to make the players around them better. He’s got that ability.”
Johnson: “Athletically, he’s top of the line. I think he’s going to be really good for sure, but I don’t know how good. That’s not for me to say.”
Ford: “He’s a great athlete and great player. And I think he’s a student of the game. I think you can just tell that when you play him, the way he thinks out there. I think he’s going to be [a great pro].”
White: “He doesn’t get rattled. I don’t think he does at all. He knows what he’s trying to accomplish and he does a good job playing within himself and within the team [framework].”
Tomlinson: “He’s very tough and very hard to bring down. I got to him once, but you have to finish him off. He keeps coming back for more and can make that tough throw on the run or beat you running. He’s very tough and athletic and smart.”
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at edholm@yahoo-inc.com or follow him on Twitter!
