For those of us that remember a lanky, precocious freshman taking on the likes of Buford with no fear, days like Saturday leave us both excited, nervous -- and just a little bit awed.
Deshaun Watson's immense talent was obvious from the moment he set foot on the varsity gridiron back in 2010.
And yet what has driven him to the brink of collegiate immortality is something even more impressive.
Watson could finish the 2016 season as a Heisman Trophy winner and a national champion. He's already set 39 Clemson records, quarterbacked the Tigers to back-to-back ACC titles and wowed the nation just like he wowed northeast Georgia between 2010-13.
And while there is no doubt his ability to throw an inch-perfect pass are near unparralleled -- or to run away from trouble and through defenses for that matter -- it is his will to work and footballing brain that have provided the winning formula.
He is no mere talent. He is the complete package.
"I tell people all the time, Deshaun will improve as long as there's improvement to be made," said Watson's former high school coach Bruce Miller. "If there's something he can improve on he's working on it, and he has improved each game this year.
Throw in a reserved nature, and it is why he makes those of us who covered and tracked his blossoming career a little giddy.
I admit I am no Clemson fan. But on nights like Saturday, I might as well be wearing orange and purple, and that goes for dozens -- if not hundreds -- of people throughout this area, as Watson chases what for most is nothing more than fantasy.
For someone with the inner-chemistry of Watson, however, it is very much reality.
And perhaps even greater than that is that -- should Watson finish as Heisman runner-up to the much-ballyhooed Lamar Jackson, you can bet that it will do little to derail his ultimate goal of a national title or the beckoning NFL draft.
"For him, if he doesn't win it, it won't be the end of the world. And if he does win it it won't be the start of the world," Miller said.
After coming so close to notching that title a season ago, you can bet that Watson -- while thrilled with thoughts of a Heisman -- is far more focused on his New Year's Eve showdown with Ohio State in the College Football Playoff semifinals.
And on that night, you can bet that a large portion of this community -- Clemson fan or not -- will be pulling for the Tigers and a player that transcends traditional team loyalties.
"He's already done so much for this community by the way he acts and the way he does things and the way he plays," Miller said. "It's never about Deshaun. And (if he wins the Heisman) I think this community would just -- they'd go crazy for a while. We all want to let people know that he's from Gainesville."
