Alabama DC calls Watson a combo of Newton, Manziel and Marshall |
Alabama defensive coordinator and future Georgia head coach Kirby Smart knows the talents of Heisman finalist Deshaun Watson since Alabama recruited him hard in high school.
Smart believes that Watson is a combination of three former college quarterback stars in Nick Marshall, Johnny Manziel and Cam Newton. "It's almost like a mixture of the three guys, with Nick Marshall as a perimeter runner," Smart said via al.com. Deshaun runs well on the perimeter. Johnny Manziel was a great athlete, create things in space. So does Deshaun Watson. This guy runs more power run game like you would say Cam Newton does." Smart also said that Watson reminds him of Watson's mentor and possible 2015-2016 NFL MVP Cam Newton. "Obviously he's not the same stature as Cam, but he runs some of the similar plays that Auburn ran with him. So the mixture of those three guys. He takes a little bit from each one because he can pass the ball. I watched this kid in high school. He is a phenomenal player. But more than that, he has the 'it' factor. They believe in him. That's pretty important at that position." Watson has thrown for 3,699 yards and 31 touchdowns and also rushed for 1,032 yards and 12 touchdowns on the season. He is 301 yards away from being the first person in college football history to have 4,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards in the same season.
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