Drafted No. 12 overall by the Houston Texans, quarterback Deshaun Watson has been impressing through training camp and he got his first opportunity to show his worth in preseason action Wednesday night.
It didn't take long for the national champion to score his first NFL touchdown.
The score comes after glowing comments from head coach Bill O'Brien.
Watson is already competing against Tom Savage for the starting role and has looked impressive thus far.
Though not a rookie, O'Brien worked closely with Tom Brady during his tenure with the New England Patriots as an offensive coordinator. He's also had his share of rookie quarterbacks during his time in Houston, none of which entered with the same expectations as Watson, who was selected in the first-round of this year's draft months after leading Clemson to a national championship.
But Watson has dealt with praise and expectations throughout his college career, even drawing comparisons to Michael Jordan from his former coach at Clemson, Dabo Swinney, when asked about teams potentially passing on the quarterback during the NFL Draft.
"It caught me off guard," Watson told CBS' Jim Rome in February. "He called me actually afterward and kind of laughed about it, but he was being serious too. He just feels that confidence in me and what I can do at the next level and he just really wanted to apply the pressure on the other teams, whoever has that selection of a quarterback would miss out."
Only time will tell if Watson can meet the expectations set in Houston. But if his college career is any indication, the Texans may have finally found their franchise quarterback.
For a chunk of his college career, Watson was considered a possible No. 1 overall pick. Judging by what's come out of camp and how he's looked so far, he looks the part despite not being a top-10 selection.
