Hunter Johnson, five-star quarterback, Clemson
Replacing Deshaun Watson isn’t going to be easy. He went out on top with a national championship win after all. But Johnson has the tools to do it. He’s a 6-foot-2, 201-pound quarterback and recruit that 247Sports Composite ranked as the No. 2 overall pro-style quarterback in the 2017 class and No. 30 player overall. ESPN ranked Johnson as the top quarterback in the nation.
Indiana’s 2016 Mr. Football, Johnson was a three-year high school starter. In his senior season, he completed 166-of-318 passes for 2,233 yards and 25 touchdowns while rushing for 525 yards and three scores on the ground.
Johnson is built a bit bigger than Watson and doesn’t run with the same explosive grace, but he’s still an elite runner for a quarterback. As a plus, he has a heck of an arm.
It’s never easy for a young quarterback to adjust. But Johnson will certainly be coming to Clemson with extremely high expectations and has the athleticism, arm and running ability to pick up the slack left behind by No. 4.