Clemson is 3-0, lifted in part by a freshman QB staying cool under pressure
Before Trevor Lawrence took a snap at Clemson, the Tigers coaching staff was already bragging about his ability to rise to the occasion during big moments.
Quarterbacks coach Brandon Streeter, co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott and other members of Clemson’s staff saw Lawrence step up time and time again during pressure situations throughout his high school career.
That trait has carried over to Clemson. When Lawrence was called upon to make a play at Texas A&M on Sept. 8 in his first real test of his college career, the freshman from Cartersville, Ga., came through with a 64-yard touchdown pass on his first snap of the game.
Lawrence went on to complete 5 of 9 passes for 93 yards and a touchdown in his first road action that night. His second road game will come this weekend at Georgia Tech.
“Trevor is the kind of guy, just doesn’t look like he gets rattled a whole lot,” Scott said Monday. “That’s one thing we love about Trevor is he doesn’t ever seem to get rattled. The moment is never too big for him. You think about Texas A&M, that was the largest crowd we’ve ever played in front of in the history of Clemson football and he goes out there and his first pass is a touchdown. That’s just kind of who he is. So I wouldn’t expect anything less from him in Atlanta this week.”
Lawrence has been impressive in his first three games.
He has completed 26 of 42 passes for 424 yards and five touchdowns while helping the Tigers to a 3-0 start.
Lawrence credits his faith for helping him stay calm as he has transitioned from high school football to being a young star on one of the best teams in college football.
“That’s just kind of always been my personality … Football’s important to me, obviously, but that’s not my life. It’s not the biggest thing in my life. My faith is,” Lawrence said. “So that just kind of comes from knowing who I am outside of that. I just know no matter how big the situation is, it’s not really going to define me.”
While Lawrence has not appeared rattled thus far, he admitted that he has gotten more comfortable as the season has gone along.
Lawrence added that if starter Kelly Bryant is unable to play this week, he will be ready. Bryant is expected to be able to go after suffering a bruised chest last week against Georgia Southern.
“I feel like I’m definitely ready,” Lawrence said. “They’ve done a good job of just playing me in important situations up to this point. Knowing that I’ve played and will be prepared (helps). I’ve played in away games, played in home games, ... played against Texas A&M, a really good team.”
Whether he starts or comes off the bench, Lawrence will certainly receive playing time on Saturday, which will be special as he will be playing 45 minutes away from his hometown.
“It’s a little bit of extra excitement,” Lawrence said. “I’ve got some friends and a bunch of family coming so it’s going to be really cool for them to get to see us play. It’ll be good.”
This story was originally published September 17, 2018 at 5:36 PM.