The decision made by former Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson not to participate in last week’s Senior Bowl sparked plenty of discussion, and the comments made at the Senior Bowl by Clemson coach Dabo Swinney comparing an NFL team passing on Watson to NBA teams that passed on Michael Jordan made headlines.
Swinney didn’t back down from those comments either. He called Watson to tell him he had made the comparison.
Watson appeared on PFT Live at the Super Bowl on Friday and told Mike Florio that Swinney’s comments had his phone “going crazy” and caught him off guard.
“I asked if he was putting pressure on me, and said he said he was putting pressure on the teams,” Watson said. “He told me, ‘That’s how I really feel. I just have a lot of confidence in you.’
“He said the teams that pass on [me] are really going to regret it.”
Watson said that he talked to both Browns coach Hue Jackson and Senior Bowl executive director Phil Savage about his decision not to play for Jackson and his staff at the Senior Bowl. Watson said he wasn’t fully healthy after a 15-game college season and wanted to focus on getting healthy and “getting settled” in California, where he’s training for the NFL Scouting Combine and the workout circuit.
Watson said he plans to compete and participate fully at the Scouting Combine.
“That’s something I’ve always dreamed about...getting the invitation and just going there and competing,” he said. “I’m excited to go show what I have.”