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Watson learned a great deal from Matt Ryan

Everyone knows Deshaun Watson’s story.

He grew up in Gainesville, Ga., where he was the second oldest child in a single-parent home. When he was 11-years old, his mom, Deann, was presented a Habitat for Humanity home thanks to former Florida State and Atlanta Falcons great Warrick Dunn.

A few years later, when he was becoming a budding football star for the Red Elephants, Deann was diagnosed with mouth cancer and lost her tongue in the process. Watson says his mom’s strength to battle through the cancer, while teaching herself how to talk again, played a huge role in the man he has become as well as how to handle the adversity he faces on the football field and in life.