* * *
BY THE TIME THE DRAFT APPROACHED, I WAS CONFIDENT I HAD DONE PRETTY MUCH ALL THAT I COULD TO PLACE MYSELF IN THE BEST POSSIBLE LIGHT, BOTH PROFESSIONALLY AND PERSONALLY.
* * *
But my tears that night were about more than the reality that I had just been drafted into the NFL. They happened when I was on camera doing a post-draft interview. A member of the crew handed me a letter and asked if I was okay reading it out loud.
I opened it and saw that it was from my mother.
“Deshaun, when you came into this world, you brought a love to my heart that I had never appreciated,” I read as my hands started to shake. “I watched you play your first flag football game, all the way to the last college game. To be here at the NFL Draft and see you walk across the stage is a dream come true. I’m so proud of you. I’m so proud of the person and the man you became. Making it to the NFL is an accomplishment that you made come true.
“That being said, it brings so much joy to my heart. I wish you love, happiness, and longtime success.
“As I look back, we was not supposed to be here.”
When I read that, I had to stop. I bent over, my hands covering my eyes as I shook with tears. I tried to start reading again but struggled to regain some form of composure. Eventually, I was able to raise my head and finish reading Mom’s letter to me.
“In the words of Drake: ‘We made it.’ Love, Mama.”
As I finally managed to finish the letter, I looked up into the camera. A member of the TV crew asked me if there was anything I wanted to say in reply.
“Love you, Mama,” I said, trying to grin through my tears. “We made it.”
I took it further than that. To show my mom all that she means to me and how grateful I am for everything she’s done for me and the rest of my family, I celebrated the draft results by buying her a brand-new car—a 2017 Jaguar.
I tried not to let myself get too high, but it sure was hard.
One month later I signed a four-year contract with the Houston Texans. It was time to get to work.
Going into training camp—held in West Virginia so we could escape the Texas heat in the heart of summer—I knew full well that I was not the No. 1 quarterback on the Texans’ depth chart. That title belonged to Tom Savage, who had worked his tail off to win the starting job. I was eager to learn all that I could from Tom.
The first few days of workouts reinforced what so many people had told me. The NFL game is completely different—not just more involved and complicated but much faster paced as well. You had to learn fast and execute even faster. It became clear to me that quick decision-making was an absolute must. Players who made smart choices fast were the rule, not the exception. Everyone who played in this league was there for a reason.
I approached my first few days of professional football as an eager student. I watched others and drove myself to learn as much as I could about the Texans’ system, studying hours of film and staying late after practice.
* * *
THE NFL GAME IS COMPLETELY DIFFERENT—NOT JUST MORE INVOLVED AND COMPLICATED BUT MUCH FASTER PACED AS WELL.
* * *
It began to pay off on the very first day of camp. I managed to get through that entire day without a major mental error—an achievement of which I was exceedingly proud. I missed no handoffs and never threw to the wrong receiver. But I knew I was going to make mistakes moving forward—and I did. I just tried to learn from them and, even more important, not make the same mistake twice.
Apparently, people noticed. I was getting feedback saying how coaches and other players were impressed with how quickly I was learning the Texans’ system. Every bit as complimentary was a tweet from Houston Chronicle sports columnist John McClain:
“I covered Warren Moon from from Day 1 for 10 years. At his 3rd practice, Watson reminds me of Moon [in] his first camp in 1984. So smooth!”1
That was a very flattering thing for John to say about me, but my first professional training camp experience definitely involved a lot of work and learning on my part. John’s words reminded me of the description of a duck on the water: on the surface, all seems fluid and effortless but, underneath, he’s paddling like crazy. I tried not to read too much into it and not to get too high or too low.
One of the first things I came to appreciate about football at this level was the emphasis on details. Of course, high school and high-level college play was about attention to specifics, but it was nothing like I experienced in the pros. When a coach instructed you to cut at just such an angle, he didn’t mean approximately or roughly. He meant exactly—forty-five degrees, ninety degrees, what have you. When handing off the ball to a running back, the ball was to be placed just so to allow the runner to gain maximum control without having to slow down or alter his pace. The practices, plays, and repetitions all focused on the specific details of execution. As I said, it was like nothing I had ever experienced before.
If you’re wondering, that’s why professional teams refer to practice plays as reps. The word—short for repetitions—really means something at this level. Before you can play and win in this league, you need to have every possible detail down to the point where you merely execute it. You don’t have time to think about it or remind yourself, Oh, right, I’m supposed to do it this way. It’s mental memory but also muscle memory. Ideally, things happen as automatically as possible. The only way to achieve that high level of consistency is by practicing the plays and the various movements over and over again.
* * *
ONE OF THE FIRST THINGS I CAME TO APPRECIATE ABOUT FOOTBALL AT THIS LEVEL WAS THE EMPHASIS ON DETAILS.
* * *
As a player who had come to be known as a great improviser, I was learning that amazing spur-of-the-moment plays are possible only after the details have been practiced over and over and executed properly. There’s improvisation, but not always as much as you might assume. Watch for it the next time you’re taking in a game. The flow of a play will continue to a certain point, which allows great players the opportunity to take it from there with their own skills.
Despite its obvious value, in professional sports it’s no surprise that not everyone likes practice. For some, the routine and repetition become boring and frustrating—practice can seem to go on forever, what with walk-throughs, running the same patterns, throwing the same sorts of passes over and over, hearing the same things repeatedly from the coaching staff. But those who approach it that way have lost their perspective of practice; it’s not pointless time killing but essential preparation. Although I admit that, for me, practice sometimes becomes a drag, it’s essential for success when the game, for lack of a better word, becomes more “fun” with great improvised runs and passes thrown with three 350-pound guys bearing down on you. Approach practice with anything less than a focused, committed attitude, and all the fun stuff may never have a chance to take place.
* * *
AS A PLAYER WHO HAD COME TO BE KNOWN AS A GREAT IMPROVISER, I WAS LEARNING THAT AMAZING SPUR-OF-THE-MOMENT PLAYS ARE POSSIBLE ONLY AFTER THE DETAILS HAVE BEEN PRACTICED OVER AND OVER AND EXECUTED PROPERLY.
* * *
Another essential lesson I learned during my first training camp was the value of asking questions—or, more honestly, of not being afraid to ask questions.
That was always a challenge for me—not because I didn’t want to learn but because I’ve always been somewhat shy. On occasion it’s hard for me to speak up, even when a question or issue is pounding inside my head. If you find asking certain questions embarrassing, well, you’ve got company.
Prior to being drafted, I interviewed with one team that was thinking about selecting me. At first the interview went pretty much as I expected, with questions focused on execution, strategy, work ethic, and other similar topics.
Then all of a sudden the interviewer asked me, “When you hear the word ‘woman,’ what’s the first thing that pops into your mind?”
I was surprised and had to t
hink about that for a moment. “Respect,” I replied.
That was one heck of an awkward moment for me, to put it mildly! At first I couldn’t understand why the interviewer would ask a question that, on the surface, had nothing whatsoever to do with football.
But, in giving some thought to it later, I came to understand the value of the question and why I’d been asked it. For one thing, the NFL has struggled and continues to struggle with issues of domestic violence and treatment of women. Our society struggles too. On a practical level, I could see why the team would want to see how a player reacted to that issue when it came up out of the blue. They were looking for an honest answer from the gut—not a reply that someone had time to rehearse and practice, no matter if he truly believed what he was saying.
I also saw that the question had to do with poise. By bringing up a topic that was completely separate from anything else that had been discussed, they were trying to see how I would handle myself, how I could think on my feet in a challenging situation.
For me, it was a valuable lesson in not being afraid to ask questions. Even though I was on the receiving end of the particular inquiry, it must have been somewhat awkward for the interviewer to ask it. It showed me that direct questions need to be asked, no matter how uncomfortable you may feel. It’s the only way to learn.
Finally, I learned a lot about patience during my first Texans training camp. As I mentioned earlier, Tom Savage was the Texans’ starting quarterback. I understood that completely—he was the veteran; I was the rookie. That’s how things should be.
Still, I was in an unfamiliar spot, standing on the sidelines while someone above me on the depth chart was taking the starter’s reps. I wasn’t used to being in that position, and, although I understood why it was the way it was, I felt frustrated and uncomfortable. But I tried to follow Cam’s advice and not let myself get too low.
I knew I had to learn to be patient. No matter who you are, no matter how gifted or talented you happen to be, you have to wait for an opportunity to showcase all that ability. There are very few exceptions to that rule, and I was not one of them. Over the weeks, I began to develop a greater sense of patience, one focused on waiting for the time when I would be given the opportunity to play and hopefully excel. It wasn’t my turn yet. In a way, it was a healthy experience, learning how to be patient and prepared no matter how hungry I might be to get in and show what I could do.
Our preseason was hard to read. Tom was the starter in our first game against the Carolina Panthers. I subbed in for him in the second quarter and finished the game, completing fifteen of twenty-five passes and also scoring a touchdown on the ground. We lost 27–17.
* * *
NO MATTER WHO YOU ARE, NO MATTER HOW GIFTED OR TALENTED YOU HAPPEN TO BE, YOU HAVE TO WAIT FOR AN OPPORTUNITY TO SHOWCASE ALL THAT ABILITY.
* * *
The next game was definitely a mixed bag. Although we beat the perennial powerhouse New England Patriots, I played poorly, throwing for only three completions out of ten attempts. Still, I made the most of the experience, learning all I could from watching future Hall of Famer Tom Brady—his execution, his ability to read defenses and make effective adjustments. Watching him play, even for the brief amount of time that starters played in the preseason, was a class unto itself. It seemed like Tom approached the game as though it were the regular season or the playoffs, not preseason. You could see the intensity he put into every play.
We wrapped up the preseason with a 13–0 shutout loss to the Dallas Cowboys. By then, it was clear that the coaching staff had decided on Tom as the starting quarterback when the regular season began.
Even though the preseason produced mixed results for the team, I found it valuable from both a learning and leadership perspective. I was becoming much better at knowing what to look for, knowing what to pay particular attention to, and, just as important, placing myself in various sorts of situations to gauge how I would perform. I watched the players on the field like I had watched the toys I arranged on the living room floor as a boy, seeing where they moved and why and what I would do differently from what I was seeing.
I watched as the various leaders of the team—Tom Savage and Jadeveon Clowney, among others—interacted with the other players. I saw how they motivated them, how they occasionally broke them down to build them back up again. I saw how they expressed leadership through actions as much as words. Like Tom Brady, their approach to leadership in the preseason was as intense and focused as it would be during the regular season.
I began to recognize the constraints of my leadership, given my particular circumstances. I was the rookie, the newcomer, the young guy in the group. Sure, I thought I could lead, but I learned to do so at very specific times when it was appropriate for a young newcomer to speak up. As I’d said back when my team won the state high school championship in Georgia, I was learning it was not my time yet. I would have to wait and develop more to become a complete, fully involved leader.
* * *
I THOUGHT I COULD LEAD, BUT I LEARNED TO DO SO AT VERY SPECIFIC TIMES WHEN IT WAS APPROPRIATE FOR A YOUNG NEWCOMER TO SPEAK UP.
* * *
My commitment to learning and leadership was the right approach. My opportunity came much sooner than I ever expected.
Opening at home against Jacksonville, Tom Savage struggled against the Jaguars’ fast, intimidating defense. By halftime we trailed 19–0, and Tom had been sacked six times and lost two fumbles.
During halftime head coach Bill O’Brien pulled me aside. Although they had hoped to bring me along slowly to get a feel for the NFL, Coach said it was obvious we needed some sort of spark before the game spiraled completely out of control. He told me to start warming up. I was taking Tom’s place as quarterback.
Since then, a lot of people have asked the obvious question: What did it feel like to get in to your first professional game? On the one hand, I recognized that it was the culmination of all the preparation I had put in, from high school to college to the pros. In a way, even though I was starting on a journey, it also felt as though it was the end of another one.
I was also surprised that, after what felt like so much waiting, this was happening so quickly. To be honest, I really didn’t expect to get any significant playing time this early in my rookie season. But it worked to my advantage, in a way. Since everything happened so fast, there wasn’t time to get nervous or to overthink it. I just wanted to get out, perform, and show what I could do. My preparation and study would hopefully allow me to execute without having to think too much about it.
I played the remainder of the game against Jacksonville. In the third quarter, I threw my first NFL touchdown, and I finished with 102 passing yards. On the downside, I also threw an interception, and, most important of all, we lost 29–7. Still, it felt great to have my first regular-season playing time under my belt. I was ready to move forward.
My first career start came on September 14, 2017, which also happened to be my twenty-second birthday. We were on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals, and I wasn’t about to squander the opportunity to celebrate. On top of 125 passing yards, I also recorded a 49-yard touchdown run in a 13–9 victory—my first as a professional.
Next up was our second game of the year against defending Super Bowl champion New England—only this one counted in the standings. I was pleased with my performance: 301 passing yards, two touchdowns. But two interceptions and a loss when the game ended—36–33—were definite disappointments. Still, it felt good that we had given the Pats all they could handle.
* * *
MY FIRST CAREER START CAME ON SEPTEMBER 14, 2017, WHICH ALSO HAPPENED TO BE MY TWENTY-SECOND BIRTHDAY.
* * *
What was anything but disappointing was watching future Hall of Famer Tom Brady throw for 378 yards, five touchdowns, and no interceptions. It became clear to me that to beat teams the caliber of the Patriots and players like Tom, you had to play as flawlessly as possible. Errors were inevitable, but
it was essential to make them as infrequently as possible and with the least amount of damage. I knew I had something to work toward and that it would take both time and focused effort.
That game also pinpointed another step in my leadership development. I started to understand that we as a team weren’t completely at the level of the juggernaut that was the Patriots. That, we all knew, would take time to achieve. As I watched our team leaders, I got a sense of that in how they talked with others and carried themselves. Yes, they seemed to say, we’re good, but true greatness takes time and patience. An effective leader, I was learning, never expresses impatience with goals that require time.
During week four against the Tennessee Titans, I completed twenty-five of thirty-four passes for 283 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception. I also rushed for 24 yards and one touchdown as we won handily, 57–14. My five total scores tied for the second-most touchdowns scored by a rookie in NFL history behind Gale Sayers’s six touchdowns in 1965. I also earned AFC Offensive Player of the Week. Another high.
* * *
TRUE GREATNESS TAKES TIME AND PATIENCE. AN EFFECTIVE LEADER, I WAS LEARNING, NEVER EXPRESSES IMPATIENCE WITH GOALS THAT REQUIRE TIME.
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