Trash talk? Bold predictions? Tigers, 'Noles too busy heaping praise

If Florida State’s and Clemson’s players execute their game plans as well as they did their talking points at ACC Kickoff, the teams’ Oct. 29 clash in Tallahassee should more than live up to the hype.

Despite fielding a seemingly endless number of questions about each other, Clemson’s Deshaun Watson and Ben Boulware and Florida State’s Dalvin Cook and DeMarcus Walker sounded more like members of a mutual admiration society than bitter conference rivals.

The Florida State players could not say enough good things about the Tigers individually and as a team. When asked about Watson, Walker compared the Clemson quarterback to Carolina Panthers star Cam Newton. He said the players are similar in terms of their intelligence and their ability to hurt defenses with their arms and legs.

Cook simply described Watson as “amazing.”

“Deshaun is one of those quarterbacks that comes around every few years,” Cook said. “He’s a great player. Makes plays that you don’t see on a daily basis. He’s one of those nightmares that defensive coordinators stay up at night for. He’s a great player … a good guy too.”

When it came to heaping praise on the competition, however, the Tigers were not to be outdone. Watson and Boulware, the Tigers’ star linebacker, went to great lengths to describe how much they appreciated Cook’s talents.

Watson used the word "great" six times in one answer.

“He’s very versatile. He’s one of the best running backs in the country,” Watson said. “He does a lot of great things. He pass-protects, he runs the ball well, he catches the ball well, runs routes … he does everything. He’s a great athlete and a great guy. I bet he’s a great person off the field. A great teammate. I bet he’s not selfish. He just seems like a good person.

“The times I’ve been around him, we’ve had great conversations and things like that. He’s one of the best guys I’ve seen in a while.”

The compliments are not unwarranted.

In last year’s game, Watson bounced back from an uneven start to take the game over in the second half. He completed 28 of 42 passes for 297 yards and one touchdown with no interceptions, and he also ran for 107 yards on 16 carries.