clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Player Grades: National Championship Game

Tigers drop a tough game to the Tide in Arizona. See who stood out the Championship game.

Matt Kartozian-USA TODAY Sports

Offense

Deshaun Watson, QB, Sophomore, A+: I don't think anything more could have been done by Watson. It's only fitting that the real best player in America breaks a National Championship game record by throwing for 405 yards. 405. It's been 2 days since the game and my jaw still drops reading that. He added 93 rushing yards to that. 30 completions, 4 TD's and an interception. If he isn't the leader for the Heisman coming into next year, then that award is truly a joke. Very great performance against a vaunted defense.

Hunter Renfrow, WR, Rs Freshman, A+: One of the best stories in college football got even better. Renfrow pulled in 7 catches for 88 yards and two touchdowns. At halftime, the score was Renfrow 14, Heisman winner Derrick Henry 14. We get a least 2 more years of Renfrow, and I'm very excited to see where this kid goes.

Defense

Shaq Lawson, DE, Junior, A+: All week, so much was made of his injury, and despite him being, self admittedly, "60%" sure that he would play, he put on a great final performance. 4 tackles, and 2 sacks. He was constantly in the Bama backfield. There was definitely little if any sign of the injury bothering him. Very impressive way for Lawson to end his career at Clemson.

Kevin Dodd, DE, Junior, A+: One of the most pleasant surprises for Clemson's defense this year showed the nation what he could do on the big stage. Dodd came away with 3 of the Tiger 5 sacks of QB Jake Coker. Dodd declared for the draft Wednesday, and his performance against Alabama can only help him. In total, Dodd had 7 tackles, with 5 being for a loss.

Special Teams

Andy Teasdall, P, Junior, A: Teasdall didn't have a nice pass to Christian Wilkins this time, but he was pretty impressive with his leg. 6 punts with an average of 44.2 yards on each one, longer than Bama punters average of 42.4 yards on 7 punts. His long was of 57. He showed his accuracy by being able to pin Bama deep in their own red zone with a nice long punt. Very good performance on the day for Teasdall.