Watson wants more than his name in the newspaper

Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson recently surged back into the Heisman race with Sports Illustrated placing him fourth among the candidates after a dominating performance last Saturday against the Miami Hurricanes.

Even with the impressive numbers that the Tigers offense has been putting up on opponents in the last three weeks, averaging more that 500 yards, and leading the third ranked team in the country Watson's only though is about his family--his Clemson family.

"We have a whole bunch of guys that have bought into the plan of what Coach Elliott and Coach Scott have wanted to do with this offense and we go out there excited," Watson said Monday. "We don't have any selfish guys on the team. We all try to get the win and it doesn't matter who gets in the end zone because we're all going to celebrate and really enjoy it. It's one bit family on both sides of the ball."

That "family" feeling has lead the Tigers to a number three national ranking and has placed them in every major bowl projection's final four teams. And while the success of this team might come as a surprise for some, for Watson this is exactly what this team has worked so hard for.

"I'm not surprised at what we are doing," he said. "We earned the position that we're in now. We worked hard over the spring and summer... A lot of guys on the team really don't care about how many catches or touchdowns or yards they have. It just shows that we care about each other and all we care about it the result in the end. That shows the character of this team."

The hard work put in over the offseason is paying dividends this season, however the numbers that this offense has put up is making opponents take notice.

The Tigers currently lead the ACC (16th nationally) in scoring at 38.4 points per game, third in the ACC (24 nationally) in rushing yards per game at 215 yards per game, 3rd in passing yardage per game with 250.4 yards per game and second in the ACC (28th nationally) in total offense at 465.4 yards per game.

With the ability to throw the ball as well as run the ball the Tigers are proving to be a very dangerous team according to Watson the scary thing is they are just going out and playing ball and not doing anything special--except dominating every phase.

"That's what we want to do. Just start out fast, take control and make sure that they don't get any hope in the game. We started off real fast (versus Miami) and we just took control. The defense did their part. Special teams did their part and we came out with a big victory."

After that "big victory" last Saturday the ultimate goal at the end of the season is very simple for the Watson led Tigers.

"We want more than just our name in the newspaper," Watson said.

If Watson and the Tigers continue to play as good in the second half of the season as the first their name could very well be on something much bigger--the National Championship Trophy