ESPN ranked the top 90 college quarterbacks of the 2000s (subscription required), and
it’s no surprise that former Clemson stars Deshaun Watson and Trevor Lawrence
landed high on the list.

A two-time Heisman Trophy finalist, Watson nearly cracked the top five, coming in at
No. 6.

Watson, who guided Clemson to consecutive College Football Playoff appearances —
with the school’s second national championship in 2016 — led the Tigers to 28 wins
over his final two seasons. He threw for 10,163 yards and 90 career touchdowns, and
compiled a 32-3 record as a starter.

“Remember when ‘Clemsoning’ meant ‘failing spectacularly on the big stage?’ No?
That’s because Watson came to town and flipped Dabo Swinney’s program from good
to elite,” ESPN’s Bill Connelly wrote. “He averaged 4,351 passing yards and 867
rushing yards in 2015-16, first leading the Tigers to the CFP title game, then winning it
the next year. ‘Clemsoning’ now simply means ‘winning big.’”

As for Lawrence, the 2020 Heisman Trophy runner-up, he just missed the top 10 of
ESPN’s list.

Lawrence came in at No. 11 behind Baylor’s Robert Griffin III (No. 10), Oregon’s Marcus
Mariota (No. 9), Louisville’s Lamar Jackson (No. 8) and Texas A&M/Oklahoma’s Kyler
Murray (No. 7).

Lawrence, who led the Tigers to a national championship as a true freshman in 2018,
concluded his career 34-2 as a starter and exited as the winningest starting quarterback
in Clemson history. He completed 66.6 percent of his career passes for 10,098 yards
with 90 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. He made five career College Football Playoff
starts and exited with Clemson career records in career winning percentage (.944),
pass efficiency rating (164.3), yards per passing attempt (8.87) and tied for the most
wins against Top 25 opponents (nine).

“It was going to be almost impossible for Lawrence to meet the expectations set for him
as an all-world recruit at Clemson. He surpassed them,” Connelly wrote. “The Tigers
lost only twice in three years with him behind center, winning the 2018 national title and
reaching two more CFPs. And he became one of the faces of a rising player advocacy
movement as a junior as well.”

The top five of ESPN’s ranking features Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield at No. 1, followed
by Auburn’s Cam Newton, Texas’s Vince Young, Florida’s Tim Tebow and Ohio
State/LSU’s Joe Burrow.