College football duos: Ranking the 32 best dynamic duos in modern history
By Nick Villano
24. Deshaun Watson and Mike Williams, Clemson
Deshaun Watson might be the most talked-about football player in the world right now due to his possible impending trade from the Houston Texans, but in happier times, he was destroying defenses with the Clemson Tigers. He is an interesting duo with Mike Williams because the two were always on campus together but weren’t always playing together.
Williams lost his entire 2015 season due to injury. That happened to be the season Watson broke out, throwing for 4,100 yards and 35 touchdowns. However, there was one thing that Watson didn’t get without Williams. He didn’t get the National Championship.
When Williams returned to the field in 2016, Clemson seemed like the team to beat in all of college football. Watson was even better, thanks to an increase in workload. Dabo Swinney likely had more confidence in throwing the ball knowing Williams was out there catching balls. Watson threw for a ridiculous 41 touchdowns and just under 4,600 yards. Williams put up 1,361 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Watson and Williams went into the College Football Playoff with a lot to prove. The team lost to Alabama the year prior, but once they were able to get past Ohio State, the long-awaited rematch was coming. Clemson was down for most of the game, but Watson put the Tigers on his back and he would not be denied. Williams was a lot of help in this matchup, With Clemson down 24-14 in the fourth quarter, Williams caught a touchdown pass just three plays into the quarter.
On the final drive of the game, with Clemson down three and two minutes left in the game, Williams made every play necessary for Watson to win the game at the last second. He caught a 24-yard pass to put the ball in Alabama territory with about 90 seconds left. Then, in the waning seconds of the game, he took a pass interference penalty in the end zone. That led to a game-winning pass to Hunter Renfrow with one second left on the clock. The difference from one year’s National Championship to the next was Mike Williams and he’s the reason Watson is leaving college as a champion.