Deon Cain: The next Sammy Watkins?

Incoming freshman Deon Cain looks to have all the intangibles to be yet another great wide receiver at Clemson University.

Sammy Watkins took college football nation by storm when he came in as a freshman and burst onto the scene as one of the top wide receivers in the nation. Every time he touched the ball, you knew he had a chance to go for six. Watkins left Clemson with all kinds of accolades including school-records, first-team All-ACC selections, as well as first-team All-American selections.

He concluded his career with 3,391 yards receiving, a total of 27 touchdown catches on 240 receptions in just three years. He has continued to excel at the professional level, where, as a rookie, he had a total of 982 yards and six touchdowns on a less-than-stellar Buffalo Bills team just a season ago.

No one around Clemson nation ever thought there would be another wide receiver quite like Sammy Watkins or DeAndre “Nuk” Hopkins, for that matter, but there is an incoming freshman that, according to Dabo Swinney, if you took the two and combined them, you would have a guy named Deon Cain.

”I describe him as if you take Nuk Hopkins and Sammy Watkins, and birth them together, you have a guy named Deon Cain.” Dabo Swinney.

Cain, the 6’1” wide receiver commit out of Tampa Bay has spent most of his time at the quarterback position in high school, but has been working out at the wide receiver spot for a couple of years now and has caught onto the footwork rather quickly. When you see Cain, you see just how closely he can be compared to Sammy Watkins.

He has some of the fastest breakaway speed, as well as the elusiveness to get out in open field and once he is in the open, there is no catching him. Although he may not have the same amount of strength that Sammy displayed, he will certainly be a guy that is explosive enough to take the ball to the house anytime he touches the ball.

His confidence will also help him to succeed, as well. When Cain was asked about the star-power at the wide receiver position at Clemson, here is what he had to say:

“That a good thing. They have a lot of guys from the past that that have been successful and moved on from the NFL,” Cain said. ”Their past three receivers have been breaking every record, have been very successful and have been drafted. I know that with my skill set and my talent that I can break all of those records.”

The biggest set-back I see for Cain playing right away is learning to be a blocker. That is one of the hardest things for any receiver to learn and he is still growing up. He will need to gain a few pounds in the summer and use his strength out on the edge to provide solid blocks for the ball-carriers.

If he can do that, however, he will see the field early and often as a freshman. I would be surprised if we don’t see him start before the season is over because he has that kind of talent.

He can stretch the defense vertically or can be used in the jet sweep game. Clemson will want to give him touches because anytime he touches the ball, he could end up in the end zone and the bright side is he is only going to get better.

Will Deon Cain be the next Sammy Watkins? That still remains to be seen, but I can guarantee you that in three to four years from now, Tiger fans will be saying there will never be another wide receiver like Deon Cain.

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Deon Cain: The next Sammy Watkins?
Source: Rubbing the Rock