Deshaun Watson GLENDALE, AZ – JANUARY 11: Deshaun Watson #4 of the Clemson Tigers reacts after being defeated by the Alabama Crimson Tide with a score of 45 to 40 in the 2016 College Football Playoff National Championship Game at University of Phoenix Stadium on January 11, 2016 in Glendale, Arizona. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)

Six weeks after losing the College Football Playoff Championship to Alabama, Clemson’s Deshaun Watson still sounds disappointed.

Accepting the Davey O’Brien Award for college football’s best quarterback Monday, the Heisman finalist had this to say, according to the AP:

“That was our goal — we wanted to be legendary. There had never been a 15-0 team,” Watson said. “We wanted to set a new standard. We were just a couple of plays away from [that] against, probably, they say, one of the best teams Alabama has ever had.”

Now obviously there had never been a 15-0 team because the playoff system that allows a team to play 15 games has only been around two years, but that’s beside the point. Clemson actually would have been only the second undefeated champion in the last five years if they had beaten the Crimson Tide and would have gone down as one of the better teams in recent history and certainly the best Clemson team since 1981, if not ever. “Legendary” might not be a stretch.

Watson, who finished his sophomore season in 2015, also talked about his professional future…well, sort of. The quarterback is on track to graduate next year, at which point he will be eligible for the NFL Draft. Unsurprisingly, Watson was a bit coy about his plans.

“I won’t make that decision until the end of the season, whenever that final game is, and depending on if I stay healthy and how good of a season this is,” he said. “My main focus is training hard and putting on my weight and getting this whole team on the right page to finish that unfinished business we need to finish. The NFL and all that stuff, I’m not even going to worry about it. … I only get to experience this college football once. I want to live it up while I can.”

This is a pretty standard answer. You wouldn’t expect Watson to tip his hand in either direction and either get Clemson fans’ hopes up that he’ll stay a fourth year or lock himself into leaving.

One minor gripe, however: it would be nice if college athletes would stop saying they’re not even thinking about their pro futures, when you know that’s what they’ve been dreaming of their whole lives. There’s no more obvious lie in sports.

[ESPN]

About Alex Putterman

Alex is a writer and editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. He has written for The Atlantic, VICE Sports, MLB.com, SI.com and more. He is a proud alum of Northwestern University and The Daily Northwestern. You can find him on Twitter @AlexPutterman.