Nick Saban compares Deshaun Watson to Cam Newton

Nick Saban called Deshaun Watson the most dominant player Alabama has played against since Cam Newton.

You know you’ve left a mark on Nick Saban when he’s still thinking about you six months later. That’s exactly what Clemson Tigers quarterback Deshaun Watson did, when he put up 405 passing yards, 73 rushing yards and four passing touchdowns against the Alabama Crimson Tide’s excellent defense in the National Championship Game, making good on his promise of what he’d do if he ever got to that stage:

Watson’s performance in that game, which was a culmination of his breakout sophomore year at Clemson, led Nick Saban to make a pretty remarkable comparison on College Football Live:

Deshaun Watson isn’t even finished with college, and he’s already getting compared to the reigning NFL MVP. That’s pretty special, and should bode well for his NFL career. Watson and Newton aren’t the only ones to light up the Tide. Ezekiel Elliott ran roughshod in the 2014 College Football Playoff, but let’s assume Saban’s only referring to quarterbacks. No matter how you cut it, that’s great company to be in.

For comparison’s sake, when Auburn and Alabama met in 2010, Cam Newton put up 255 total yards and had four touchdowns, leading the Tigers back from a 24-0 deficit to win 28-27. While Watson’s performance was better statistically, it came in a losing effort, mostly because Alabama won in other areas of the game, such as special teams.

For Watson, that loss in the Final still hurts, and you can bet that he and the Tigers will be more motivated than ever to get over the hump next season. We’ll see if the National Championship will be a rematch so that he can try and put himself over Cam Newton.

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