Great Expectations: Trevor Lawrence
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The third pass of Deshaun Watson’s career set the expectations for the freshman from Gainesville, Georgia. It was the season opener, on the road in Athens, Georgia, and a home-state legend was back in the Peach State playing for the enemy Tigers.
Even though it was impossibly early in the highly regarded recruit's time at Clemson, Watson zipped, and I mean zipped, a 30-yard touchdown pass to Charone Peake. The ball sailed past the ear hole of an oblivious Georgia linebacker leaving the color analyst that afternoon with a one-word description - “Wow!”
Moments like that began to redefine the quarterback history in Clemson, however around Watson, Clemson also improved tremendously in other areas making the Tigers a perennial contender for the College Football Playoff.
Because of that, incredibly, the expectations for Trevor Lawrence are set even higher.
The comparisons between the two started long before the true freshman from Cartersville, Georgia arrived on campus. Then, much like Watson, on just his second pass attempt during Clemson's spring game, the 6'5 freshman welcomed himself to Tiger Town. Lawrence hit Tee Higgins on a 50-yard touchdown and further solidified his place on the roster, especially for the fans in attendance.
When Watson arrived on campus in 2014 the expectations laid at his feet were immense. Clemson was a program on the rise and many felt that if he could take the Tigers a step or two forward, the sky was the limit.
Three years later, Watson more than fulfilled those expectations when he told his team “let’s go be legendary”.
After losing to Alabama in the 2016 National Championship the previous season, the junior went out and firmly planted himself in the record books. The final drive of that 2017 National Championship game will be talked about for ages in Tiger Town. That January night in Tampa, Watson did indeed become a legend.
Thanks in part to Watson's success, the word “immense” seems like an inadequate description for the expectations surrounding the quarterback position at Clemson.
Prior to Watson’s arrival, if Clemson had a returning starter at quarterback that led the Tigers to victories over Auburn, Louisville, N.C. State, Florida State, South Carolina, and Miami on the way to a 12-1 record and a berth in the College Football Playoff, you would have celebrated wildly in anticipation. You would have been giddy with the prospect of returning such a quarterback and looking forward to the season ahead.
But expectations change with success.
That 12-1 record dissolved into the New Orleans night when an offense reminiscent of the 2010 Tigers appeared. The hopes of back-to-back titles died a slow, painful, crimson death.
Now there’s a new young stud on campus and expectations are higher than when Watson arrived. Much higher. Progress, some call it.
The situations are different, to be sure. Watson was battling a career backup, while Lawrence is fighting an incumbent senior who led his team to the No 1 seed in the 2018 College Football Playoff.
Lawrence has a better team around him, filled with top-level talent. Don't get me wrong, Watson's teams were talented, but three straight trips to the College Football Playoff has helped bring in better talent. Lawrence should benefit from that.
The most significant difference between the two seems to be the expectations. No one expected Deshaun Watson to lead Clemson to a national title in his freshman year, but nearly everyone expects Lawrence to find his way to the golden scepter.
And he’s not even the starting quarterback.
The old saying goes you don’t want to be the guy that follows the guy. You want to be the guy that follows the guy, that follows the guy.
Things seem to be setting up really well for Lawrence. After all, he didn’t follow the guy, that fell on Kelly Bryant.
Think about this, after losing to Alabama last season 24-6, how did you feel?
If the 2018 College Football Playoff told us anything, it’s that going 12-2 with a playoff appearance is not enough for Clemson fans anymore. Not after that January night in Tampa in early 2017.
If you felt angry and frustrated with Bryant because the Tigers didn't get back to the title game or bring home the trophy, go find your preseason predictions. Very few people believed Bryant could navigate that schedule, but he did.
But for Bryant, ACC titles, 12-2 records, and a playoff appearance without a title felt like a failure to many. Bryant's inability to hit on the deep ball was a problem and one week later that issue was magnified during the 2018 National Championship game, while the Tigers were sitting at home.
After trailing Georgia 13-0 at the half in the title game, Alabama's Nick Saban pulled starting quarterback Jalen Hurts for true freshman Tua Tagovailoa. The Tide struggled offensively in the first half and needed a spark, especially in the downfield passing game.
Tagovailoa delivered, bringing Alabama back and forcing overtime with the Bulldogs.
Then In overtime, Tagovailoa fired a 41-yard game-winning strike to DeVonta Smith. That play gave the Crimson Tide a 26-23 walk-off win and the national title.
Following the game, Saban had this to say about his freshman quarterback.
“We’ve had this in our mind that if we were struggling offensively, that we would give Tua an opportunity, even in the last game. No disrespect to Jalen (Hurts), but the real thought was, they came into the game thinking we were going to run the ball and be able to run quarterback runs, which we made a couple of explosive plays on. But with the absence of a passing game and being able to make explosive plays and being able to convert on third down, I didn’t feel we could run the ball well enough, and I thought Tua would give us a better chance and a spark, which he certainly did.”
Among many Tiger faithful, the what-ifs began to creep in.
What if Clemson made a switch against Alabama to Zerrick Cooper or Hunter Johnson?
What if Clemson had a talented freshman who could throw the ball like that?
In the end, the best quarterback should play, and I’m on record saying the Tigers need to be able to throw downfield to be a championship contender.
Look no further than Watson's “legendary” drive to see why.
In the back of my mind, I wonder what happens if Trevor Lawrence eventually wins the job, throws for 3,500 yards and 30 touchdowns, but Clemson loses in the first round of the playoff?
Essentially, Lawrence would have accomplished exactly the same thing Bryant did in 2017, albeit in a different way.
If that happens will you consider Lawrence a disappointment? Or will he have met, or even exceeded your expectations?
Look around the practice facilities at Clemson and you’ll see “Best is the Standard” all over the place. Swinney, his staff, and his players have lived by that phrase. Those four words have been a part of a National Championship, a 40-4 run, and three consecutive playoff appearances, That success alone is more than any Clemson fan expected back in 2014 when Watson arrived.
Clearly, those expectations have changed.