Photo by Phil Ellsworth / ESPN Images(NEW YORK) — Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson said Thursday that he would work out at the NFL scouting combine and that he was not making an attempt to avoid being drafted by the Cleveland Browns when he skipped the Senior Bowl.
Watson won a national championship with Clemson last month, bringing the school its first title in more than 30 years.
“I can just go out there and compete and just be the quarterback that I am,” Watson told the NFL Network. “I don’t want to get too focused on what I have to show or what I need to do, because I think I’d lose track of doing the little things.”
Often, the top quarterbacks will throw only at school-run Pro Day showcases. Watson, however, insisted he would take part in throwing drills at the combine.
He also explained his decision not to take part in the Senior Bowl by saying that he was training in California at the time. The Browns coaching staff coached the South team in that game, the team Watson would have played on.
“I talked with my family, my agent, my trainer, all the coaches at Clemson, and it was just best for me to go ahead and get started in the draft process,” he explained.
His college coach Dabo Swinney warned teams not to pass on Watson. “I’m just telling you, if they pass on Deshaun Watson, they’re passing on Michael Jordan” he said on the first day of Senior Bowl practices.
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