150 Days until Kickoff: Can Trevor Lawrence live up to the hype?

CLEMSON -- Man, this spring is flying by.

There are 150 days until the 2018 season kicks off but only ten days until Clemson takes the field for its annual spring game.

ESPN will broadcast the game live from Death Valley at 2:30, bringing its best talent of Chris Fowler, Brock Huard, and Tom Luginbill to call the game. With the hype surrounding this year’s spring game, in particular, you’d think it would be on primetime television under the lights with College Gameday in town if it were possible.

Everyone wants to see Clemson get back on its feet after the bludgeoning from Alabama that took place in January. After an offseason where the front four of Clemson’s defensive unit decided to return to wreak havoc, there’s not a ton of unknown surrounding that side of the ball.

Let’s face it; there should be a record crowd in Death Valley on April 14th because of the overflowing talent in the quarterback room. Speaking of “flowing,” if you poll every fan or media member who will walk in that stadium that afternoon on who they were excited about seeing, they’d be lying if wasn’t the quarterback with the flowing, long hair.

Midyear Trevor Lawrence‍ has turned plenty of head so far in his short time on Clemson’s campus. Dabo Swinney, Tony Elliott, and Jeff Scott have all said the same thing:

“He’s everything as advertised.”

But can he live up to the madness of hype surrounding him going forward?

No question.

You can’t overlook the physical tools the kid possesses with a 6’5 frame, a cannon for an arm, and the ability to make people miss with his legs.

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Trevor Lawrence looks the part and seems confident in his ability to make every throw.

But what I have been most impressed with what I have heard about him so far is the demeanor he plays with as an incoming freshman. He’s adapting quickly to Clemson’s offense and taking in so much information at a time where it would take an average quarterback a longer time to get the hang of things.

He’s picked up things at a quicker pace mentally than Deshaun Watson did as a freshman, according to Scott. And we all remember what Watson did against Georgia in his first drive as Clemson’s quarterback.

The word associated with him that we hear after almost every practice is “poise.” He’s not getting rattled on the field against one of the nation’s top defenses, but looks at the challenge and says, “I’m ready.”

There have been plenty of “wow” moments, and there will continue to be plenty more as Lawrence gets more comfortable and confident.

Kelly Bryant is still the head man at the quarterback position, for good reason. He’s been paying his tail off this spring just as he did last spring when he was in a similar situation. It’s going to take a lot of mistakes on Bryant’s end to not be the starting quarterback for all of 2018.

That being said, where Lawrence ends up on the depth chart in August will be a telling sign. Hunter Johnson and Chase Brice are no scrubs either. If Lawrence ends up being the No. 2 quarterback, Clemson fans will be craving for the unknown as much as possible.

The hype would have only just begun. - SANDERS SULLIVAN

Yesterday, we told you that we have been closely monitoring the wideouts as they jockey for playing time and in-game reps and that group is one of our favorites for sure (Just wait until Justyn Ross‍ arrives).

The Tigers are once again positioned to be one of the top teams in America, and the recent talent acquisition has the future in Clemson looking extremely bright, especially at quarterback.

As to the question of if Lawrence can live up to the hype, I tend to think "no," but the reviews seem to be a resounding "yes."

That makes me a bit uneasy.

I've been pretty steadfast in the fact that I have not seen a player arrive at Clemson with this much fanfare since Willy Korn. Certainly, Deshaun Watson brought tons of expectations to Clemson upon his arrival, but Lawrence's arrival reminds me of what people felt about Korn.

Knowing that, and reviewing the results while Korn was at Clemson leaves me skeptical about Lawrence.

I'm not trying to say that the two are the same. Heck, forget Korn's injury that derailed his career, this program is currently in a different stratosphere than the one Korn joined.

Stepping in at quarterback in 2018 should be nearly "turnkey" given all the talent on campus at Clemson.

But according to the contacts I've talked to around the program, Lawrence looks like the real deal.

I'll never forget Tajh Boyd telling me this about Watson during Clemson's 2014 spring game, "He's the truth."

Hearing that from Boyd raised my eyebrows, but he was right. 

By all accounts, you can file Lawrence under "The Truth" category. 

As for the starting job though, it should continue to belong to Kelly Bryant. I do not believe that the starting spot should or will change hands in spring or fall camp.

© Rich Barnes-USA TODAY Sports

Kelly Bryant looks to deliver Clemson to the College Football Playoff for a 4th consecutive season.

It is my belief that a change at quarterback will take place on the battlefield under live fire. Think Cole Stoudt in Tallahassee. 

Whether you like it or not, Bryant's 2017 campaign warrants him a chance to go out on the field and prove himself once again. Stoudt's resume was paper thin. Bryant is an ACC Championship winner. 

In terms of in-game results,  there really wasn't a huge difference between what Bryant did last year and what Watson did during Clemson's runner-up season.

I'd surmise that if Bryant had not been injured against Syracuse the Tigers go undefeated in the regular season and they would have still entered the College Football Playoff as the top seed. 

That's what Watson did in 2015 and Alabama was the team that took them out, much like what happened to Clemson and Bryant, it was just a game sooner on the schedule.

The biggest difference between the two is the on-the-field production.  

Watson threw for 4,109 yards and 35 touchdowns with 1,105 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground in his first year as the full-time starter. 

Bryant only managed 2802 passing yards and 13 touchdowns to go along with 665 rushing yards and 11 scores.

Bryant was not nearly as productive as Watson, but games are not won and lost on the stat sheet, and while Kelly Bryant failed to keep up with Watson stride for stride and productivity, he nearly matched him "win for win" on the field.

In my estimation, Bryant's status in the program and resume are Lawrence's biggest hurdle given his supreme skill set.

Sure, there are two other quarterbacks battling in 5-star Hunter Johnson and 4-star Chase Brice, but if we come around in January and reevaluate this article, I firmly believe that Lawrence's inability or ability to live up to the hype will have more to do with the performance of the kid wearing No. 2 than anything else.

The best news about this whole situation might be found in a recent quote from Dabo Swinney who said, "One of the best things woven into the culture of our program is the pride our veterans take in nurturing our young guys and teaching how we practice and the core values of who we are."

From one player to the next, the fabric of Clemson football is passed to a new group of stars. Bryant learned from Watson, and that experience has been passed down to Johnson and is being passed down to Lawrence.

The hype is real. The future is bright. - LAWTON SWANN