Final exams are in session this week at Clemson. For Deshaun Watson, that means punctuating a spring semester that featured a whopping 19 credit hours.

Then, of course, comes summer. Which, in Watson’s case, doesn’t necessarily mean vacation.

Watson, the 2015 Heisman finalist, intends to complete another 17 credit hours across the school’s two summer terms, according to the (Charleston) Post and Courier’s Aaron Brenner. The rising junior is intent on graduating with a degree in communications studies this winter, making it all but a certainty that he will then declare for the 2017 NFL draft.

Watson’s on-field résumé alone should be enough to make that decision for him -- an 18-2 career record as a starter and the only player in college football history to pass for 4,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in a single season (in 2015).

Watson accomplished the the yardage milestone last season while taking 18 credit hours, which has actually been his average course load since that fall semester, according to the Post and Courier.

For his junior season, however, Watson will have just eight credit hours remaining this fall.

“Really, a lot easier. I’ll have more time on my hands,” Watson told reporters last week before accepting player of the year honors from the South Carolina Football Hall of Fame. “That will be the final road to getting my degree. That’s what I came to college for.”

Watson had graduated early from Gainesville (Georgia) High and enrolled at Clemson in January of 2014, accelerating his growth on the field and in the classroom.

And he isn’t simply “getting through” school by taking throwaway classes, either. According to the Post and Courier, Watson had two online courses and five in-person classes this spring, including an in-person class in American sign language.

Next on Watson’s agenda, in addition to the aforementioned 17 credit hours this summer: offseason workouts and 7-on-7 drills with his Tigers' teammates.