Five years ago, a shining talent burst on to the field at City Park and set Georgia high school football ablaze via his rare mixture of athleticism, innate talent and drive.
And now the rest of the nation knows firsthand what football fans and coaches in northeast Georgia have known for some time.
Deshaun Watson is an once-in-a-lifetime sort of player.
(NOTE: To watch a video feature of Watson's time at Gainesville, simply click "play" in the video box above.)
"The first time I ever saw him in a varsity practice I thought wow -- that kid is pretty smooth to be an upcoming ninth grader. Just how we handled everything and how calm he was about it," said Gainesville football coach Bruce Miller, who coached Watson 2010-13. "Then we had the spring game and he went 22 for 25 as an upcoming ninth grader."
It was just a hint of things to come, as Watson went on to win championships and break records by the bushel before joining Clemson -- where he has continued to soar. And after a promising freshman campaign was hampered by a knee injury, Watson stormed through his sophomore campaign, leading Clemson to a 13-0 record, No. 1 ranking, the Atlantic Coast Conference title and a spot in the college football playoff.
He is also one of three finalists for the Heisman trophy, which will be presented on Saturday in New York. The last Gainesville High player to approach the bronze statue was Billy Lothridge, who finished second to Roger Staubach while playing for Georgia Tech. 52 years later, another former Red Elephant is getting another shot -- and with good reason.
Waston's performances this season have been nothing short of extraordinary -- and yet anyone who watched Watson slice through high school defenses with regularity might have predicted collegiate stardom.
"He had maturity above his years, handled things mentally on the field so much better on the field than most kids at his point and then he handled things off the field so good. Those qualities made you realize he was kind of special, but you hated to tell anybody because you didn’t want to jinx him," Miller said. "It didn’t matter how hard or difficult you tried to make it; the more fierce the competition the better he played. Kids like that change the whole make-up of your team."
Watson led the Red Elephants to their first GHSA title (in 2012), and set state marks for career passing yards (13,077), career touchdown passes (155), and career all-purpose touchdowns (218) – all the while producing enough jaw-dropping plays to leave fans salivating for more.
"He brought a kind of calming-ness over the team. They knew Deshaun had their back. And he brought a very unselfish attitude to the team," Miller said. "It was never about Deshaun. It was always about the team."
Watson made himself a high school legend in northeast Georgia by helping lead the Red Elephants to a 46-9 record that included -- beyond the 2012 Class AAAAA crown -- two state semifinal appearances (2011 and 2013) and a second round state appearance as a freshman. His 400-yard, five-touchdown performance in the Georgia Dome helped Gainesville overwhelm Ware County in his lone championship start, 49-13 -- a performance that helped the Red Elephants break a streak of 0-5 finishes in previous title games.
He capped his senior season with 4,431 yards passing and 57 touchdowns -- against just five interceptions -- while also rushing for 1,057 yards and 17 scores. It was an incredible bookend to a career that started with 2,088 passing yards and 17 touchdowns along with 569 rushing yards and five touchdowns as a freshman.
Yet for all the stats, coaches who encountered Watson remember him for far more than simply being prolific.
"I’d put (Watson) in the top four-five kids I’ve ever gotten to coach against," said Buford coach Jess Simpson, whose teams went 3-1 against Watson's Red Elephants squads. "He was very intelligent, obviously very talented, a great competitor, very savvy. The moment never got too big for him. He was also a very physical kid. We always talked about how he would fall forward. It was hard to tackle him, even in the run game. But it was a lot of fun. We got some great memories playing against him, and I’m really not surprised he’s going to be sitting in New York with a chance to win that thing. He’s had a great year."
And with one more collegiate season ahead of him, the future certainly remains bright for the sophomore quarterback. Yet no matter how high Watson soars, no matter how many awards he wins, he will always carry a piece of Gainesville with him. In fact part of Gainesville football will be in attendance at Saturday’s Heisman Trophy presentation, as Miller will join Watson’s mother and aunt as the quarterback takes a chance at collegiate immortality.
"Deshaun is ours. He was born and raised here. We saw him first. Now the world gets to see him," Miller said.
