Just last year on this same board there was a post explaining that Watson was no better than Perry Orth. Now he is an irreplaceable first round talent that will never come around to Clemson again. I agree he is a special talent, but good teams can win without a superstar at QB. Just take a look at what Alabama did last season.
I do think the QB position at Clemson will take a drop off, but the defense is going to be better than it has been in the last 2 years. Clemson may not win as many shootouts, but they probably still have at least 10 wins this year. If they win the ACC they are probably right back in the playoff, even if they lose a game early.
I agree that Mike Williams bailed Watson out with some big catches, but to act like there are no more WR's on the roster is also not accurate. Clemson will line up with Deon Cain (5-star), Ray Ray McCloud (5-star), Tee Higgens (5-star), Cornell Powell (4-star), Amari Rogers (4-star), Diondre Overton (4-star), and some scrub named Renfrow all on the roster this season.
First of all I'm not "acting" like anything, and you just said about the same thing I did.
My point is you can bring in all the talent in the world, like a Watson, but they still have to develop and play and not every big recruit they bring in will develop.
I agree they'll win 9-10 games, but to win big you still need a special QB and I think Alabama proved that. In essence Watson beat them twice, when he had the ball. If it weren't for a couple of blown coverages on defense and special teams let downs Clemson would have back to back championships. Watson did all he could do in both games.