Watson: Recovery from hits against Alabama kept him out of Senior Bowl

Deshaun Watson said the hits he absorbed by the Alabama defense during Clemson's triumph in the national title game were a factor in his decision to skip the Senior Bowl.

Watson made the comments during the NFL Combine at Indianapolis, where he impressed scouts.

"It took me a while," Watson said of his recovery time. "I'm not gonna lie. It took me a while. That was one of the reasons why I didn't participate in the Senior Bowl. But at the same time, if we had another game, I would tough it out and play.

"It wasn't anything that I couldn't play on. It was just I had to get back healthy and get back. The decision was based on me, my family, my agent and my trainer and all the coaching staff at Clemson. We came to a conclusion that it was best for me to sit out, get healthy and catch up on the process of this whole draft process and getting ready for the combine."

Watson's stature as a big-game quarterback was cemented with his second straight brilliant title game performance.

"It happens, especially if you want to play for the national championship and run the system that we run," he said. "You're gonna take hits. You're gonna take some blows, especially with teams like Ohio State and Alabama. They're gonna come at you and they're gonna apply the pressure and try to hit you and rattle you."

This story was originally published March 7, 2017 at 11:51 AM with the headline "Watson: Recovery from hits against Alabama kept him out of Senior Bowl."