‘We want to play:’ Clemson QB Lawrence leads charge to save college football season
Trevor Lawrence has made it clear: He wants a college football season this fall.
The Clemson quarterback sent out several tweets Saturday and Sunday as national reports circulated that the college football season in the Power 5 conferences might be shut down this week because of coronavrius concerns.
Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde and Ross Dellinger, along with ESPN, are reporting that conference meetings are being held this week that are expected to postpone college football and all fall sports. The Mid-American Conference announced Saturday that it won’t play football in the fall.
Among the arguments for not playing football in the fall are the health risks it is putting on players and coaches. That isn’t the case, according to Lawrence.
“People are at just as much, if not more risk, if we don’t play,” Lawrence said via Twitter. “Players will all be sent home to their own communities where social distancing is highly unlikely and medical care and expenses will be placed on the families if they were to contract covid19.
“Players being safe and taking all of the right precautions to try to avoid contracting covid because the season/ teammates safety is on the line. Without the season, as we’ve seen already, people will not social distance or wear masks and take the proper precautions.”
Lawrence and dozens of other college football players have posted to Twitter their desire to play a college season with the #WeWantToPlay hashtag.
Clemson just started preseason practice Thursday, the same day the Tigers learned their revised 2020 game schedule — the format being 10 Atlantic Coast Conference games and one non-conference opponent. As it stands, Clemson opens the season Sept. 12 at Wake Forest.
South Carolina QB Ryan Hilinski and wide receiver Dakereon Joyner joined the movement, both tweeting #WeWantToPlay on Sunday. The Gamecocks and SEC teams are preparing for a 10-game, conference-only season that begins Sept. 26. The Southeastern Conference said official practices can begin Aug. 17.
Lawrence’s statements this weekend back up what he told reporters Friday after the Tigers’ practice. He talked about not opting out of the season and wanting to play as expected.
If there is no football in the fall, stars like Lawrence could pass on the possibility of a spring season by declaring for the NFL. Penn State’s Micah Parsons and Virginia Tech’s Caleb Farley have already done so.
Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields, also considered a top NFL prospect, joined in the movement Sunday night.
“There’s been too much work put in!! #WeWantToPlay,” he tweeted.
Lawrence said he would have to rethink his decision if the college football season is moved to spring, but he has made it clear how much he wants to play in a Clemson uniform again.
“It’s about playing football,” Lawrence said. “I don’t want to give up that opportunity to play another year at Clemson. I’m really excited to have at least one more year here and I wasn’t ready to give that up.”
Lawrence’s tweet Saturday saying, “I don’t know about y’all, but we want to play” has almost 100,000 interactions.
“Let’s work together to create a situation where we can play the game that all of us love,” he tweeted Sunday. “Not divide and argue. There is a way forward.”
This story was originally published August 9, 2020 at 8:09 PM.
