Watson Named South Carolina Collegiate Player of the Year

Greenville, S.C.—Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson has been named the 2015 Collegiate Player of the Year by the South Carolina Football Hall of Fame.  The announcement was made Wednesday night in Greenville, S.C by Hall of Fame President David Wyatt and Hall of Fame member and former NFL coach Sam Wyche. 

Watson became the first college player at the FBS level to accumulate 4,000 yards passing and 1,000 yards rushing in leading Clemson to the championship game of the College Football Playoff.  The Tigers finished second in the final polls with a 14-1 record. The 14 wins established a school record for wins in a season.

Watson completed the season with an ACC record 5,209 yards of total offense and accounted for 47 touchdowns, 35 passing and 12 rushing.  He completed 333 of 491 passes for 4,104 yards and 35 touchdowns.  He finished in the top 12 in the nation in total offense, passing efficiency and touchdown passes.  He was third in rushing among quarterbacks with 1,105 yards.

Wednesday night’s award continued a long list of honors for Watson this year.  He won the Davey O’Brien Award and the Manning Award as the top quarterback in he nation.  He was third in the nation in the voting for the Heisman Trophy, the highest finish in history for a Clemson player.  In two weeks he will receive the Archie Griffin Award from the Touchdown Club of Columbus, Ohio as the nation’s top player.

The Clemson signal caller was also named the consensus first-team All-American quarterback, another  first for a Clemson player.  He was the Most Valuable Player of the ACC, the MVP of the ACC Championship game and of the Orange Bowl victory over Oklahoma.