Deshaun Watson very different from other Tide title challenges

Clemson's Deshaun Watson, shown here scoring a touchdown in the 37-17 defeat of Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, is the toughest quarterback Alabama has faced in a national championship game under Nick Saban.
Clemson's Deshaun Watson, shown here scoring a touchdown in the 37-17 defeat of Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, is the toughest quarterback Alabama has faced in a national championship game under Nick Saban.

TUCKER TO GEORGIA?

Alabama secondary coach Mel Tucker is reportedly heading to Georgia after Monday night’s title game to become the defensive coordinator of the Bulldogs. Fox Sports reported the impending move late Thursday afternoon, but neither Alabama nor Georgia has confirmed the hiring.Tucker is in his first season with the Crimson Tide after spending the 2013 and ’14 seasons as defensive coordinator of the Chicago Bears. He was Jacksonville’s defensive coordinator from 2009 to ’12 after serving as Cleveland’s defensive coordinator in 2008.A former Wisconsin defensive back who graduated in 1995, Tucker coached under Nick Saban at Michigan State and at LSU and was a member of Ohio State’s national championship staff in 2002.

Alabama's three national championships in the Nick Saban era have come at the expense of LSU quarterback Jordan Jefferson, Notre Dame quarterback Everett Golson and Texas quarterback Garrett Gilbert, who replaced an injured Colt McCoy early in the BCS title game after the 2009 season.

Deshaun Watson of Clemson, a Heisman Trophy finalist, expects to pose much more of a challenge for the vaunted Crimson Tide defense in Monday night's title showdown.

"You've got two choices," Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart said this week in a news conference. "You can come after the guy and try and keep him in the pen, or you can sit back and have someone try and spy him, but now he can stand there and throw the ball in the pocket. It's tough to defend a dual-threat quarterback.

"A lot of their biggest plays are broken-down plays, and he does a great job with that, so I can't sit here and say we'll do it one way or the other. We've got to come up with a good plan and mix it up and not let him get comfortable. That's the big key."

The Crimson Tide practiced Thursday for two hours in full pads and will work out again this morning before flying to Arizona.

Smart will become Georgia's head coach on a full-time basis Tuesday, but his final assignment with the Tide is taxing. Watson has completed 303 of 444 passes (68.2 percent) for 3,699 yards as a sophomore, with 31 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.

The 6-foot-2, 190-pounder from Gainesville, Ga., also has 187 rushes for 1,032 yards (5.5 per carry) and 12 scores.

Alabama quickly feasted on Gilbert, Jefferson and Golson, building a combined 61-6 halftime lead in those three games, but Smart isn't evoking any of those quarterbacks this week. Instead, he believes Watson is a mixture of two former Auburn quarterbacks, Cam Newton and Nick Marshall, and former Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel.

The Tide lost to Newton in 2010, to Manziel in 2012 and to Marshall in 2013.

"He's like Nick Marshall as a perimeter runner," Smart said of Watson. "Johnny Manziel was a great athlete who could create things in space, and so does Deshaun Watson. This guy also runs more power run game like Cam Newton does. Obviously he's not the same stature as Cam, but he runs some similar plays that Auburn ran with him, so he takes a little bit from each one.

"He can also pass the ball. I watched this kid in high school, and he's a phenomenal player. Plus, he has the 'it' factor, because they believe in him, and that's pretty important at that position."

Watson was the nation's No. 1 dual-threat quarterback in the 2014 signing class according to ESPN, Rivals.com and 247Sports.com. Though he began his freshman season as the backup and played just eight games due to hand and knee injuries, Watson did wind up making five starts, throwing 14 touchdown passes and only two interceptions, and setting a single-season school record in pass efficiency (188.6).

In last week's 37-17 thumping of Oklahoma in the Orange Bowl, Watson and running back Wayne Gallman combined on 50 carries for 295 yards and three touchdowns.

"Deshaun is kind of like Josh Dobbs with the ball," senior linebacker Reggie Ragland said, referencing Tennessee's junior quarterback who nearly guided the Volunteers to an upset win in Bryant-Denny Stadium in late October.

Alabama freshman quarterback Blake Barnett, who redshirted this season, has spent time in practice this week emulating Watson. So has dual-threat signee Jalen Hurts, an early enrollee who is allowed to practice with the Tide during their on-campus workouts.

Smart admits that simulating Clemson's tempo has been the toughest task in preparing for his final game with the Tide before heading to Athens.

"We know that this is my last go and that this is his last go," Ragland said. "We're going to give it everything we have."

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.

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