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Let’s be honest: Clemson isn’t going to be able to claim it has a Heisman winner after the 2019 season.
Trevor Lawrence, the Golden Boy, was the talk of the college football world the entire offseason. Many figured with the offensive pieces around him, including the other Heisman candidate Travis Etienne in the backfield, that Lawrence would pick up where he left off in Santa Clara and run away with the award.
According to Sports Betting Dime, Lawrence was a preseason favorite to win the award at 11-2 odds. But Heisman’s aren’t won in the offseason.
They’re won in September, of course.
And after three games under his belt and arguably facing the toughest competition he’ll play all season, Lawrence went from Heisman favorite to 25-1 odds (seventh-best). Going into the contest with Charlotte, Lawrence had thrown for 831 yards, five touchdowns, and five interceptions. In the 2018 Playoffs, Lawrence almost did all of that damage (minus the interceptions) in two games against Notre Dame and Alabama.
In a world where Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa are putting up video game-like numbers against their respective competition, Clemson’s program has had a different approach.
Lawrence could’ve racked up whatever numbers he wanted against the 49ers on Saturday. That was evident after the second play of the game when he found Tee Higgins down the seam with ease for a 58-yard touchdown.
Instead of playing even a half of football against Charlotte, Lawrence barely played a quarter. He was actually on the field for 3:47 during his only three offensive series of the game. The sophomore phenom barely broke a sweat, finishing 7-of-9 passing for 94 yards and two touchdowns.
Some Clemson fans may have been frustrated – or puzzled - by Dabo Swinney’s move to pull Lawrence so early. The Tigers came as close as they ever had to being able to claim a Heisman winner in 2015 and 2016 when Deshaun Watson went to New York, but eventually saw Derrick Henry and Lamar Jackson take the trophy.
The fact that Lawrence seems out of the race already, as September is about to come to a close, may be more annoying to Clemon fans than anything.
But in the long run of what many expect to be a 15-game season, padding the stats for individual awards doesn’t matter and won’t make a difference in where Clemson will finish this season. What will matter is the development of the entirety of the youth on its roster and letting the veterans get in and get out as quickly as possible.
The Tigers played 111 of their 120 players on Saturday, which we noted was a school record. The previous record of 94 players getting some game action came just a season ago when Clemson demolished Louisville at home.
“That’s just who we are. We want to beat the opponent but we don’t want to embarrass anybody. That’s not the objective. Obviously, we could’ve scored 100 points if we leave Trevor Lawrence out there and he could’ve had all kinds of stats and could’ve been written up for the Heisman this week.”
- Dabo Swinney
“That’s just who we are,” Swinney said after Saturday’s win. “We want to beat the opponent, but we don’t want to embarrass anybody. That’s not the objective. Obviously, we could’ve scored 100 points if we leave Trevor Lawrence out there and he could’ve had all kinds of stats and could’ve been written up for the Heisman this week. We ain’t interested in that. We are just interested in winning the game and try to win with class. … Grow our team.”
Lawrence went to the sidelines on Saturday and was still engaged in the action as backup Chase Brice, and the rest of the quarterbacks on the roster got their chance to get good reps and shine. The same could be said for any other positions on the roster.
Co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott told us that he approached Tee Higgins on the sideline early in the first quarter and told him that he wanted to hold Higgins out.
“I think (Higgins) was in there for ten plays and it was early in the first quarter and I just said, ‘hey, I think you’re done. Let’s let these other guys play and get some experience,’” Scott said. “What those veterans know, it’s just very unique in the year 2019 to be at a place that has a culture where your stars aren’t worried about their stats. Trevor Lawrence is honestly not worried about his stats. Travis is not worried about his stats. They’ve been a part of championship teams and these championship runs that you want to make, they know it’s a long year. This is an advantage. They can go in there and play well and then sit on the sidelines and kind of rest up. Let the other guys play.
“I went and asked Tee, ‘want to go one more series? I really want to go ahead and pull you out.’ He said, ‘hey, let (Joseph Ngata) and those guys go play,’ It was great to see the veterans stand up there and really cheer, be engaged, and pull for that next group when they went in there.”
Ngata finished the game leading the team in receiving with three catches for 62 yards and one touchdown. That experience for Ngata will pay off down the road for the Tigers as their season continues and depth builds.
That was just one of the many examples of players who were genuinely excited to see some of the younger players get in the game early. Scott told us that playing as many players as Clemson does is a significant selling point when he hits the recruiting trail.
Most opposing coaches will ask wide receiver recruit, “Why would you go there? They already have so many guys.”
Scott is usually one step ahead and has an immediate counter.
“I say, ‘well, we play eight or nine guys a game, and we’re going to have nine guys on scholarship, so I think there are pretty good odds you are going to get a chance to play.’”
Point proven on Saturday night. And it seems to be working.
“I can’t speak for the cultures at other places, but you see a lot on the Internet or Twitter or whatever that there’s a lot of self-promotion and people worried about maybe their own stats,” Scott added. “But here it really, truly is about the program first, team first, and getting the win. Part of that is in recruiting. We make sure when we are recruiting guys that we are recruiting guys that understand that it is about the team more than the individual.”
The first-ranked Tigers may not get a Heisman to their name after 2019, but their player development could be worth its weight in championship gold.