Facing Trevor Lawrence no longer their problem, they see big things coming at Clemson
As Deshaun Watson was going through his career at Clemson it appeared the Tigers had a unique talent, the likes of which would not be matched anytime soon.
Watson lifted Clemson’s program to new heights during his three seasons in the Upstate, leading the Tigers to two consecutive national title games, including the 2016 national championship.
But as Watson was preparing for his final two games in a Clemson uniform, the Tigers landed another potential superstar in fellow Georgia native Trevor Lawrence. The No. 1 prospect for the class of 2018, Lawrence committed to the Tigers in December of 2016, giving Clemson two quarterbacks that were viewed as generational talents within a span of a few years.
“When Deshaun left Clemson there was this feeling that this might be a once-in-an-every 20 years type of player,” Tigers co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott said. “And then just a couple of years later to have a guy that potentially has that type of skill set and ceiling is incredible.”
Brett Garvin, the head coach of Sandy Creek High (Tyrone, Ga.) is well aware of just how incredible both Watson and Lawrence are.
“We had the unfortunate pleasure of playing both,” Garvin said laughing.
Garvin was an assistant at Sandy Creek in 2011 when Watson and Gainesville High beat Sandy Creek 35-21 in the playoffs to end their season.
Three years later it was Lawrence who helped ended Sandy Creek’s season as he was only a freshman when he passed for more than 300 yards to help Cartersville to a 35-31 playoff victory.
“They’re very similar… It’s hard to actually compare those two because they both do a lot of the same things really well. I think Trevor’s height, he’s a little bit taller, probably gives him a little bit more of an advantage,” Garvin said. “As a high school quarterback Trevor was maybe a little bit more polished at throwing the ball coming out.”
Garvin had watched film of a young Lawrence prior to the playoff game in 2014 and was impressed with what he saw, but he didn’t realize the talent the then 15-year-old had until he saw him in person.
“We had heard that they had a good quarterback,” Garvin said. “You hear that a good bit with coaches talking… And then you play him and you’re like ‘Oh man.’”
Lawrence also led Cartersville to a 35-21 win against Sandy Creek as a junior and a 63-0 victory against Garvin’s squad as a senior.
After going up against both players during their high school careers, Garvin expects Clemson’s new level of success that started with Watson to continue throughout Lawrence’s career.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Trevor doesn’t eclipse Deshaun pretty quick as far as Clemson goes and the passing and all of that part of it. It’s yet to be determined his leadership skills because Deshaun was a heck of a leader. All of that is yet to be determined. He’s got to go out and prove he can do all of that part of it,” Garvin said. “But I would not be surprised, let’s put it that way. I’m not going to predict that he will, but I would not be surprised.”
Calhoun High football coach (Calhoun, Ga.) Hal Lamb got an up close look at Lawrence in 2016 and 2017 and his team had trouble slowing down the 6-foot-6 signal caller.
Lawrence passed for 352 yards and three touchdowns in a 56-0 win as a junior and threw for 294 yards and four scores in a 55-8 victory in 2017 as a senior.
“I think he’s the total package. I think he’s got one of the strongest arms. He can throw on the run better than anybody I’ve seen in my coaching career,” Lamb said. “What people don’t realize, he can run. He made a lot of plays in high school with his legs. He’s a smart kid. And he was very, very difficult to defend in high school, that’s for sure.”
Calhoun tried different game plans each year with neither having much success.
“Trevor was by far the best that we have ever coached against,” Lamb said. “One year we tried to drop everybody and not rush as many and not blitz as much and he just picked us apart. Then the next year we tried to put some pressure on him and we couldn’t tackle him and he was on the run and made some plays on the run. You’ve gotta pick your poison.”
One of the few coaches to have success against Lawrence during his high school career was Blessed Trinity High coach Tim McFarlin.
Cartersville had won 41 consecutive games before Blessed Trinity (Roswell, Ga.) brought Lawrence’s high school career to a surprising end with a 21-17 upset victory in the second round of the playoffs last season.
McFarlin said Blessed Trinity put together a game plan that was different from anything it had done all season to try to slow down Lawrence.
“We brought pressure, that’s the first thing. And we brought it from a lot of different places. And then coverages were critical. We tried to make things as complicated for him as we possibly could,” McFarlin said. “We didn’t just sit in one or two coverages. Not letting him really get a lock on what we were doing I think was probably the key to us being able to win the ballgame.”
Lawrence was held to 142 passing yards and one touchdown in the loss. Blessed Trinity took advantage of some dropped passes and the pressure being on Cartersville as it pulled off the stunning upset.
But even in defeat McFarlin came away impressed.
“I think he’s every bit as good as anybody that I’ve seen in my 38 years of coaching,” McFarlin said.
Lawrence has continued to impress early on during his college career.
Clemson fans got a chance to see Lawrence for the first time in the spring game and he stole the show, completing 11 of 16 passes for 122 yards and a touchdown.
“It didn’t surprise me one bit,” Garvin said. “When they told me what he did I looked at my coaches and said, ‘And that surprises y’all? We watched every game the kid played for three years and that surprised you?’”
That success has carried over into the regular season. Through three games Lawrence has passed for 424 yards and five touchdowns, despite splitting time with starter Kelly Bryant.
“He looks very comfortable in what they’re doing,” Lamb said. “I think coach (Brandon) Streeter does a really good job with the quarterbacks over there. He looks very comfortable in the offense, and he looks very confident. It’s not a surprise to me.”
Lawrence’s next chance to impress will be Saturday at Georgia Tech as he returns to his home state. He will be playing about 45 minutes away from the school where he used to star.
“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.”