Lawrence, Rencher swoop in to save college football, ask for monumental changes

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Somewhere amid the collapse of the 2020 season, two Clemson Tigers swooped in like Superman trying to save college football, but will it be enough to turn the momentum in a downward trend?

In a weekend filled with incredible ups and downs for the sport, Sunday night's late heroics by Clemson teammates, Trevor Lawrence and Darien Rencher, somehow put a positive vibe in the air, at least for now.

As of 11:00 last night, I'd all but given up hope to see a season this year with all of the news pouring out from the Big Ten. 

Yet, Lawrence and Rencher, two young men who have impressed this offseason by leading the "March for Change Rally," again are using their platform in hopes of making positive changes.

Lawrence, who has emerged as the face of college football, could perhaps be remembered as the player that led the most significant shift in the history of the sport, by calling for a College Football Players Association. 

If something like that were to go through, it would signify a change, unlike any other we've seen in the history of college athletics.

According to Rencher, he and Lawrence jumped on a Zoom call with leaders from the #WeAreUnited movement, that started in the Pac-12 and Big Ten. Instead of sitting by and watching their season crumble, the duo pushed the agenda to another level using the #WeWantToPlay hashtag an additional push to get on the field this season.

Rencher's tweet said that he and Lawrence "got together with representatives from every Power 5 conference via Zoom Call, and this is what we decided upon Pac 12 movement, and #BigTenUnited were in collaboration with us. All together — a step toward one collective voice."

Rencher hopes it turns out to be a "Hail Mary to win 'the game' hopefully.'"

The student-athletes are united together, listing the following changes:

• We all want to play football this season.
• Establish universal mandated health & safety procedures and protocols to protect college-athletes against COVID-19 among all conferences throughout the NCAA.
• Give players the opportunity to opt-out and respect their decision.
• Guarantee eligibility whether a player chooses to play the season or not.
• Use our voices to establish open communication & trust between players and officials; ultimately create a college football players association.
• Representative of the players of all Power 5 Conferences. 

Stewart Mandel recognized the shift tweeting, "It appears #WeAreUnited (which started w/ a group of Pac-12 players' demands) and #WeWantToPlay has merged into one P5 player movement."

Others in the media were in awe of Lawrence's push for change, and the story became the top trending topic on Twitter.

Barrett Sallee tweeted:

"The #WeWantToPlay movement is incredible. So great to see players stand up for themselves, take ownership, and show that they want to be out there. Proof that it's irresponsible to tell people what you think they should think rather than listening to what they actually do think."

Other top players across the country began retweeting and sharing a graphic listing the changes that athletes requested. Notable names in college football who have tweeted the message include Ohio State's Justin Fields and Master Teague, Oklahoma's Spencer Rattler, and Miami's Deriq King.

Lawrence also put out a series of tweets explaining his thoughts on the entire situation and there is a lot of validity to what he says.

Whether it works or not, after hearing reports that their season would be canceled, it's refreshing to see players from coast-to-coast joining forces to fight as one to keep their season alive.