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Can Trevor Lawrence emerge as an Andrew Luck-type prospect?
The Clemson Tigers had already been a playoff team three years in a row and won a couple of championships before 2018, with hopes of going all the way once again with a more than solid quarterback in Kelly Bryant. However, four weeks into the season, they made the switch to freshman phenom Trevor Lawrence. People expected him to be great after breaking Deshaun Watson’s passing yardage and touchdown records in the state of Georgia before being viewed as the number one national recruit, but nobody could have predicted the success he had in year one.
Lawrence completely transformed the Clemson offense, completing 65.2 percent of his passes for 3280 yards and 30 touchdowns compared to only four picks on 8.3 yards per attempt, despite not starting for the first four weeks. You see him beat tight coverage with perfect ball-placement and gives his receivers chances, he doesn’t really put the ball in harm’s way and he throws with a lot of anticipation, hitting receivers right out of their breaks. What I think was so different from most freshman QBs was the way he stood tall in the pocket and hitched up into it instead of hearing that mental clock tick and trying to escape.
He saved his finest work for the National Championship game, when he led the Tigers to 44 points against the feared Alabama D. In that game, Lawrence went 8 for 12 for 242 yards and a couple of touchdowns on third down, with only one of those attempts having less than five yards to go. He also picked up three first downs with his legs to close out the game and simply never looked rattled on the big stage.
As an NFL prospect, Lawrence pretty much is exactly what you are looking for. He has elite height at 6’6”, incredible arm talent and excellent athleticism to extend plays. I would like to see him fill his frame more, as he only weighed 215 pounds last year, and you want to see him continue to develop, but at this trajectory, he looks like the obvious number one draft pick in 2021.
