Name: Trevor Lawrence
Ranking: No. 1 QB, No. 2 Overall
Born: 10/06/1999
Height: 6’6
Weight: 220 Lbs
Position: Quarterback
University: Clemson
About Trevor
The legend of Touchdown Jesus starts in Knoxville, Tennessee, where his family is originally from. They would move to Cartersville, Georgia and Trevor would go on to be a multi-sport athlete at Cartersville High School. He helped the Purple Hurricanes to two state championships and 41 straight victories. Lawrence also set the Georgia state record for career passing yards and touchdowns; a record originally held by Deshaun Watson. By his senior year he was the No. 1 overall prospect by 247Sports, and Rivals and was offered from over 20 schools. Following in Deshaun Watson’s footsteps Lawrence chose the Clemson Tigers over the Georgia Bulldogs on Dec. 16th, 2016.
. The year prior to Lawrence coming to Clemson they had just gone 12-2 and lost to Alabama in the National Championship game. So rightfully so he would start as the second string quarterback behind Kelly Bryant, the incumbent quarterback. Even so Lawrence was given equal snaps in Clemson’s first four games before taking the starting job completely. Nine games later and the Clemson Tigers would be looking at 13-0 and a No. 2 seeding in the College Football Playoffs. Trevor Lawrence would then blaze through the playoffs, torching Notre Dame 30-3 and handing Nick Saban’s worst loss ever at Alabama. He was named the Offensive MVP of the game becoming the first true freshman in over 30 years to be named MVP for a national title game.
The Heisman hype would begin in 2019 after being named the Preseason ACC Player of the Year. Expectations would dampen however due to a slow start to the season. North Carolina almost pulled off an upset victory early in the season, but couldn’t finish the deal. Nevertheless Lawrence and the Tigers would get back on track, rolling to another 13-0 regular season. He would go on to face his Georgia High School “rival”, Justin Fields, and the Ohio State Buckeyes in the CFB Semi FInals. Clemson would beat the Buckeyes 29-23, and face Joe Burrow’s LSU Tigers in the CFB Finals. LSU would take the chip 42-25 and completely control Clemson from the jump. Lawrence put on one of his worst performances of his career completing just 49% of his passes for 234 passing yards and a rushing touchdown. Touchdown Jesus would finish the season with 4,228 total yards, 45 touchdowns and eight interceptions.
2020 would be a roller coaster for Trevor for many different reasons. Not only did he have to focus on getting a championship back, COVID-19 reared its ugly head as well. On Oct. 30th, 2020 Lawrence had tested positive and was forced to miss two games. The second game being against then No. 4 Notre Dame, a match up they lost in OT. The Tigers would be able to bounce back, and defeat the Fighting Irish for the ACC Championship. Clemson would end up jumping Norte Dame in the playoff, and face No. 3 ranked Ohio State. Lawrence would once again put out a very mediocre performance, as the Buckeyes would go on and win 49-28. Overall, Trevor Lawrence finished his season with 3,356 total yards, 32 total touchdowns, and five interceptions.
Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths
I don’t even know where to start here. Trevor Lawrence has everything you could ask for in a franchise quarterback. All the way down to being highly marketable. He doesn’t make poor choices, and has been even better about turnovers this season. Short, intermediate, or deep passes; Trevor Lawrence can nail them all.
On top of all that, Lawrence has some wheels on him too. He has a very long stride that makes him cover ground faster than most would expect. I wouldn’t be surprised if he runs in the 4.5s if he runs at the NFL Combine. Last year he rushed for 586yards and nine touchdowns, and had a career long of 67 yards at Clemson.
Weaknesses
There is much not to like about Trevor Lawrence. There’s a reason people use the label “generational talent” when describing him. The only things that teams will have to worry about are mental aspects of the game. Such as how will he fair on a cold weather team, or can he handle the New York media? Even those will be minor at best.
NFL Draft Projection/NFL Player Comp
NFL Draft Projection
Obviously there is a strong indication that the Jacksonville Jaguars will be using their No. 1 overall pick on Lawrence this April. Even with it almost guaranteed; I am still going to give him “just” a Top 3 lock. That is just the beauty of being a very talented quarterback.
Even if the Jags somehow pass up on Lawrence, the Jets will for sure select him with the No. 2 pick. There are plenty of teams that will be willing to trade up to select Lawrence as well. Whatever team does get to draft him better have a good supporting plan behind him to maximize his talent.
NFL Player Comp
You could spend hours studying game tape, and still not find a real comparison to Trevor Lawrence. You won’t find anything. He is his own quarterback to the highest degree. Even Mel Kiper could only compare him off his status of being a quarterback teams truly are waiting for. He mentioned names like John Elway, Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck but none of them have the play style of Lawrence.
“…John Elway in ‘83, you go up to Peyton Manning, you go to Andrew Luck, and now Trevor Lawrence; are designed to be and look to be the perfect quarterback.” – Mel Kiper Jr.
If you gave Peyton Manning the legs of Taysom Hill, you would probably have Trevor Lawrence? Pretty much a unicorn on the football field. If you can come up with a good, realistic comparison feel free to message us at @_txhsfb on Twitter. Until then I am just excited to see what the NFL has in store for such a unicorn of a prospect.
