Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence may command as much attention as Duke’s Zion Williamson after the Tigers’ win over Alabama 44-16 in the college football championship game.
Beyond talk of paradigm shifts and dynasties rising and falling, Clemson’s decisive victory over Alabama in this year’s FBS championship game will reverberate for months, not least within the ACC.
Take reactions to Trevor Lawrence’s performance as he directed the Tiger offense to an 44-16 win.
At 19 Lawrence displays more aplomb at quarterback, a better command of his emotions and skills, than many players with more experience in college or the pros. Frankly, as long ago as the fifth game of Clemson’s season, when the freshman took over as starter, it appeared Kelly Bryant, the man Lawrence supplanted, was destined to become the ACC football equivalent of Wally Pipp. (See Yankees, Lou Gehrig, “The Iron Man”.) No wonder Bryant left.
Given media and social appetites, next season Lawrence may command as much attention and hype as Duke basketball wunderkind Zion Williamson, another freshman, enjoys right now.
Setting aside for a moment limits imposed from on high, the inevitable question arises why Williamson can go pro after a year but Lawrence is confined to college for three playing seasons whether he chooses that course or not.
These days, precocious quarterbacks assume starting roles in the NFL as rookies or shortly thereafter. Yet, oddly, we spend countless hours debating the fairness and ramifications of college basketball’s one-and-done bleed-off of top talent but rarely question why comparable avenues of opportunity (and fan frustration) aren’t open to NCAA football players such as Lawrence and classmate Justyn Ross, a wide receiver.
“It does seem it’s two more years in a sport (where) you’re dramatically more likely to be injured. The risks are higher, the delays are longer,” notes Dr. Paul Haagen, a Duke law professor and co-director of the school’s Center for Sports Law and Policy.
