Clemson’s Shaq Lawson growing up before community’s eyes

Shaq Lawson had every intention of going straight from D.W. Daniel High to hometown Clemson, following the path of Lions graduates like Jarvis Jenkins, DeAndre Hopkins and DeShawn Williams.

Life, though, had other plans. Lawson didn’t immediately qualify academically, something that to this day perplexes Daniel coach Randy Robinson, so Lawson spent a year at Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia.

“It was disappointing because he had worked so hard academically,” Robinson said. “Our teachers rallied around him. Daniel is a tough academic school, but the teachers supported him and jumped in there. They wanted him to get there. We’ve spent a lot of extra time getting him prepared. Those people invested a lot in Shaq, and he appreciates that.”

That support from the community means everything for a player who eventually found his way to Clemson and is now considered one of the top defensive ends in the country — and playing on the No. 1 team that takes on Oklahoma in the CFP semifinals on Dec. 31.

“There’s such a sense of community around him,” Robinson said. “These kids want to represent their community well. If you ever see Shaq after a game, he’s surrounded by a bunch of local fans, people right here from our community.”

And Lawson, a 6-foot-3, 270-pound junior, has never forgotten the teachers, coaches and everyone else who have supported him during that tough time. He can’t. He sees them all the time.

“I think it’s special,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “This community’s watched Shaq Lawson since Bolick Field over here in Central rec, where my kids have grown up playing. It’s incredible, the development and maturation that he’s gone through throughout his years.”

A Central native playing at Clemson is something Swinney, who grew up near Birmingham, Ala., and played for the Crimson Tide, can relate to. Daniel is a proud program that’s put out a lot of college talent, and everywhere Lawson goes, he runs into people talking about the Tigers.

“It’s a great feeling knowing you’re local,” Lawson said. “People around the community are always saying we’re undefeated. We’re getting a lot more love than we usually have since I’ve been at Clemson. Glad we’ve got the fans supporting us and the community supporting us.”

Being at home, though, means a lot of ticket requests to see the 12-0 Tigers play, and it can be overwhelming and “hard to block out.” Sometimes, he has to turn his phone off. But he wouldn’t have it any other way. Lawson wanted so badly to come to Clemson because of what it means to his hometown.

“There’s always some people in the community looking up to you as a player and I used to do the same thing,” Lawson said. “When I was a young child I would look up to players, and seeing players talking to the community and giving back to the community in any kind of way is a great feeling.”

However, Swinney said he didn’t know if the Tigers would be able to recruit Lawson to play football at first.

“He liked football and was good at football, but he was a basketball player,” Swinney said. “He was going to the NBA. Then I think he realized he wasn’t a point guard. He got more serious about football practice.”

After a stellar career at Daniel and a year at Hargrave, he made a few All-American freshmen teams in 2013 when he had 10 tackles for a loss and four sacks as a backup. After posting 11 TFLs and 3.5 sacks as a sophomore, Lawson immediately filled the star role left behind by current Atlanta Falcons first-round pick Vic Beasley and was named preseason All-ACC.

“This is what I thought I’d do,” Lawson said. “Coming in for me, people saying we were going to have a drop off with Vic gone. That didn’t really put any pressure on me. I just came to work every day, did my best to try to perform every Saturday.”

Heading into the ACC title game, Lawson is now 10th all-time at Clemson in a season and leads the nation with 20.5 tackles for a loss — something Swinney challenged him to do before the 37-32 win over rival South Carolina.

“He loves stuff like that because he likes challenges,” Swinney said. “Shaq is one of the easiest guys I’ve ever coached because he is low maintenance, blue collar, loves to play, loves to practice. He’s a smart player. He’s got great instincts for the game. He’s just tough.”

Those numbers, and the playmaking and dominance he’s provided on a No. 1 team, made Lawson as a finalist for Narguski Trophy and Lombardi Award.

“My team’s first, but it’s a big honor to get nominated as one of the best defensive players in this game,” Lawson said. “It would be great to win one, win a couple. It’s an honor to me because I’ve worked so hard to get here as an individual.”

That attention has led to his NFL Draft stock rising. Lawson, who will leave early, is being projected by several draft experts as a first- or second-round selection.

“I’m proud of him,” Robinson said. “That trip to Hargrave was rough on all of us. I hated to see him go experience that, but I think we’ll look back on it and say it’s one of the best things that ever happened to him because he came to Clemson to prove a point. He’s certainly proved his point. He’s one of the best players in college football.”

This story was originally published December 20, 2015 at 8:28 PM with the headline "Clemson’s Shaq Lawson growing up before community’s eyes."