So as I turn the page (inside myself at least) on the season that was last year, I’m so thankful to have been able to experience the feeling of watching the Clemson Tigers win a national championship once again in my life. What Dabo, his coaches, players, and the administration have been able to accomplish since 2008 has been remarkable. To watch Renfrow catch that last pass to seal the victory against Alabama was a feeling of utter joy that honestly ranks in the top 10 experiences of my life.
The fact that Dabo had the vision and forethought to talk with Steve Fuller and give Deshaun Watson the ability to wear that number 4 turned out to be…well…legendary. In the end I wound up looking at DW4 the same way I did CJ Spiller. I went to that darn 2009 Music City bowl and watched Clemson beat stinking Kentucky, just for the opportunity to see CJ get loose one last time. I had that same thought in January 2017; I went to watch DW4 lead the Tigers down the field one last time. I have to say he did not disappoint.
Just look back with me for a few minutes. After trailing the entire game, Clemson took the ball at their own 12 yard line with 6:33 left in the contest. Watson took the Tigers 88 yards in 6 plays, taking 1 minute and 55 seconds to score the go ahead touchdown. The stadium went nuts….CU leading in the National Championship game with 4:38 left. Short lived however, as Alabama scored to take the lead back with 2:07 left. The other side went nuts. Roller-coaster came to mind.
Just a few seconds after their jubilation subsided and the task left for the Tigers began to start to register with me, my wife spoke the second set of most beautiful words I have ever heard her utter. She said “They left Watson too much time”. Truer words had never been spoken. We watched as #4 marched the Tigers 68 yards in 9 plays using 2:06, culminating in…well…you know as well as I do. So for those two final drives, Watson went 9-11 passing for 102 yards, had 21 yards rushing, and ended with one legendary TD. So in the end, did Watson deserve to wear the #4 once again for the Clemson University Football team? Oh yeah…and then some.
So tomorrow, a new chapter is unveiled to the Tiger faithful and I will bask in every second of it. Thankful, in the end, to be a very small part of something very special in a small upstate South Carolina town called Clemson. PS…#28 it’s your turn.