Former Clemson star Deshaun Watson reaching rare air four games into NFL career

Deshaun Watson is for real.

The former Clemson star quarterback, who led the Tigers to a national championship last season, is continuing to the red-hot start to his NFL career with the Houston Texans.

In Sunday’s win over the Tennessee Titans, Watson passed for 283 yards and four touchdowns, completing 25 of 34 passes for a 125.0 QB rating.

Watson ran for another score, showing no signs of slowing down after passing for more than 300 yards and two TDs last week against the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, and his 49-yard touchdown run that looked like something out of a video game in the win over the Cincinnati Bengals two weeks ago.

Ten of Watson’s completions were to former Tiger great Deandre Hopkins. He turned the 10 receptions into 107 yards and a touchdown.

Former South Carolina Gamecocks standout Bruce Ellington contributed as well, hauling in a 13-yard catch from Watson. Ellingotn finished with three receptions for 44 yards.

Jadaveon Clowney also contributed to the Texans’ win. The former Gamecock star defensive end recorded his third sack in two games and forced the third fumble of his career in the process. He added two solo tackles.

Watson is making his college coach, Dabo Swinney look like a genius. Before the NFL Draft, Swinney said any team passing on Watson would be passing up the opportunity to draft Michael Jordan.

Watson is already breaking records. With a quarter to spare Sunday, Watson became the first rookie in Texans history to throw three touchdowns in a game. Houston’s 57-point output was a franchise record for most points scored in a game.

When Watson connected with Lamar Miller on another touchdown pass in the fourth quarter, Watson tied the all-time single-game rookie quarterback record with five total touchdowns in a game. Watson was just the fourth rookie quarterback since 2000 to post three touchdown passes and one rushing score in a single game.

Houston fans have definitely noticed Watson’s production, as they’ve suffered through mediocre quarterback play for several seasons.

Watson’s success certainly isn’t a surprise to Clemson fans, who enjoyed him posting one highlight play after another in three seasons with the Tigers. But the NFL is getting a quick wake-up call on Watson’s prodigious talents. Social media was buzzing about his latest performance.

This story was originally published October 1, 2017 at 3:28 PM with the headline "Former Clemson star Deshaun Watson reaching rare air four games into NFL career."