The Clemson Insider

The Clemson Insider staff members Robert MacRae, Gavin Oliver, Kaila Burns-Heffner, Will Vandervort and Gabby Bates go Around the Horn to answer some of the questions surrounding Clemson athletics and college football.

Will Deshaun Watson win the Heisman this year?

Robert MacRae – Yes, Deshaun Watson will win the Heisman this year. There will be plenty of competition but this year will come down to Watson or McCaffrey. Both are incredible athletes.

Watson will put up better numbers this year than he did last when when he made it to New York as a finalist. Last season the staff took it easy with Watson running the football early in the season until they felt comfortable following his return from the ACL he injured the previous year against Georgia Tech. Deshaun will get plenty of chance to run against Auburn and Kevin Steele’s defense and plenty as the season move along.

Expect Watson’s TD/INT ratio to be improved this season as well. There will be plenty of open receivers with all of the weapons the Tigers have on offense.

It will certainly help Deshaun’s chances if the Tigers are undefeated and heading to the College Football Playoff when the voting occurs. I expect that to be he case.

McCaffrey will also have a great season and put up impressive numbers once again. It will be hard to defeat Watson however with the combination he will put up rushing and passing.

Will Vandervort: Can Deshaun Watson win the Heisman? Yes. Will he? No. Here’s why because he doesn’t play in the SEC and he only has two marquis games to show what he can do against big-time competition. Unfortunately for him those two games come in the season opener and in the middle of the season. Watson will have to be almost perfect to stay in the Heisman race all season.

Gavin Oliver:

Can Watson win the Heisman? Certainly. Will he? I’m not so sure. I mean, Watson was the first player in FBS history with at least 4,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing. Watson had more total touchdowns (47) than Derrick Henry (28) and Christian McCaffrey (13) combined, but nevertheless finished behind those guys in the balloting.

While Henry and McCaffrey are extraordinary talents, I thought Watson deserved to win the trophy last year. Watson is capable of producing an even better season in 2016, but even if he does, like last year will it be enough to garner more votes than a player such as Leonard Fournette from the big, bad SEC? Watson was the preseason favorite for the Heisman at one time this summer, but that title currently belongs to Fournette, which speaks to the respect that Watson just might not get enough of to win the Heisman. We will have to wait and see, but it should be a fun race to watch between Watson, Fournette, McCaffrey and other stars like J.T. Barrett, Dalvin Cook, Nick Chubb and Baker Mayfield.

Kaila Burns-Heffner:

Yes, 2016 is the year that quarterback Deshaun Watson wins the Heisman Trophy. Watson’s accolades to date are incredible. As a finalist last season, Watson completed 67.8% of his 491 passes for 4,104 yards and 35 touchdowns while also rushing for 1,105 yards. He became the first ever player in FBS history to put up those numbers in a single season. The Manning Award winner will also return a huge stock of skill players on the offensive side of the ball to allow those same type of numbers to be put up again in 2016. Clemson also has the ability to run the table in college football this coming season which will definitely aid in the campaign. There are a lot of talented athletes that have been thrown in the Heisman conversation like Christian McCaffrey and Leonard Fournette, but I believe that Watson is the front-runner. The impact that Watson has when he is in the game is astonishing, and he has already gained immense recognition for that. The 2016 season should help him prove his talent to the Heisman voters while he does his job to help his team get back to the National Championship.

Gabby Bates:

There are plenty of players out there worthy of winning the Heisman trophy, but Deshaun Watson rises above them all. Watson finished the season off last year completing 67.8 percent of his 491 passes. He threw for 4,104 yards and 35 touchdowns against 13 interceptions. He also ran for another 1,105 yards and 12 more touchdowns. Watson became the first quarterback to throw for 4,000 yards and run for another 1,000 in the same season. The quarterback proved to be one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in college football and he is not stopping there. Dabo Swinney told the media during the spring that his work ethic is unbelievable.

The Manning Award recipient also has some pretty good tools to work with. The Tigers are getting back some of their biggest threats on offense that will make them such a dangerous team to play against. At wide receiver, Clemson is loaded with talented depth. Mike Williams, who will be returning this season after missing last season to a neck injury, Deon Cain, Artavis Scott, and Trevion Thompson will all play a huge part in helping the Tigers get back to the National Championship. We must not forget about running back Wayne Gallman who racked up a total of 1,527 yards and scored 13 touchdowns last season. Walking into the season as the No. 1 team in the nation, there is no doubt the Tigers are capable of having a successful season. In order for a player to win Heisman, their team has to win too.

While it’s obvious that Deshaun Watson is great with both his hands and his feet, his mental game is what sets him a part from most quarterbacks and even other position players. Watson’s confidence shines above them all. The quarterback proved last season how capable he was of staying calm when adverse situations seemed to approach. There is no moment too big for this guys. The quarterback impressed many by showcasing his composure and poise in the most difficult environments. This is what makes Deshaun Watson such a dangerous guy to play against.

Finally, I believe that just playing the quarterback position puts Watson at an advantage of winning the Heisman. While other position players have received the award in the past, it’s obvious that quarterbacks are the pick of the draw. Looking back, before running back Derrick Henry won, five straight Heisman winners were quarterbacks. Do the guys who play other positions like running back have a chance? Sure they do. I just believe that history speaks for itself in this situation and Deshaun Watson is a quarterback who will be hard to overlook this upcoming season.