College GameDay and cold weather? Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence ready for next challenge
Trevor Lawrence has passed every challenge thus far during his freshman season as he has helped lead Clemson to an 8-0 start and a No. 2 ranking.
Saturday night’s game at Boston College could be Lawrence’s biggest challenge yet, but the Georgia native is ready for it.
The Tigers will play at BC with the season on the line as Clemson can clinch a spot in the ACC title game with a victory. If Boston College pulls off the upset it will control its own destiny in its quest to win the ACC Atlantic.
There is plenty of hype around the matchup as College GameDay will be in town and the game will be played in prime time at 8 p.m. on ABC. Cold weather is also expected for the top 20 showdown with temperatures getting as low as 34. But Tigers co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott believes Clemson’s freshman quarterback is ready for whatever is thrown his way.
“He’s going to do very well in any new scenario or scene. I promise you he’s looking forward to going up and playing on the road in a very difficult road game versus a very good defense with different weather than he’s had around here,” Scott said. “He’s the kind that’s looking forward to that challenge and will embrace that.”
The ability to take on any new situation and play well is not something every quarterback possesses, and it is particularly rare in freshmen. But Lawrence has been excelling in new situations throughout his football career.
Lawrence earned the starting quarterback job at Cartersville High as a freshman and went 52-2 as a starter during his four years.
He also earned the starting quarterback job at Clemson as a freshman at the midpoint of the season and currently leads the ACC in touchdowns with 18 and QB rating at 163.
“I just like playing in big games,” Lawrence said. “It’s fun going on the road and fun to experience these new things. I’ve never really been to any of these places. Never even been up north, really, so it’s going to be cool to go up there and play.”
While Lawrence is technically still a freshman, Tigers coach Dabo Swinney has seen enough from his emerging star quarterback to no longer classify him as one.
Lawrence has grown more and more as a leader throughout the season and is now comfortable in his role as the head of the Tigers’ offense.
“I’m really proud of Trevor. He’s played nine games and he’s not a freshman anymore,” Swinney said. “He doesn’t walk like one. He doesn’t practice like one. He doesn’t game-plan like one. He’s a veteran player now.”
Lawrence can continue to prove that he is worthy of the hype of being the No. 1 overall recruit in the country with another strong performance in Clemson’s biggest game of the season on Saturday.
“I expect Trevor to do exactly what he’s done anytime he’s faced something new, which is just embrace it and go be successful,” Scott said. “He looks like he’s been out there playing for years. That’s the sign of a special young talent... I haven’t seen anything in him that’s caused me to worry.”
This story was originally published November 6, 2018 at 5:49 PM.