Dabo Swinney Shares Memorable Trevor Lawrence Moments
Dabo Swinney is a gifted talker.
The Clemson head coach can flow from one topic to another, sharing anecdotes and insight along the way. But when he was asked Thursday night what moment shows the epitome of who Trevor Lawrence is as a quarterback, it took Swinney a while to work through it all.
That's completely understandable. After all, the Tigers head coach and the former quarterback shared a tremendous number of accomplishments together: a national title in 2018, three College Football Playoff appearances, three ACC titles, 34 wins with Lawrence as the starter.
Then there were moments where Lawrence, the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL Draft by the Jacksonville Jaguars, wowed even a veteran head coach with his strong arm and ability to make game-changing plays.
Here's how Swinney defines his now-former QB through unforgettable memories:
National Championship Game Against Alabama (2018)
"You go back to his freshman year, true freshman, that national championship game...you know, Alabama's 14-0. We were 14-0. They had a veteran quarterback and we had this true freshman and the narrative was, you know, how's this guy gonna handle this type of spotlight? And he was unbelievable. We win that game (44-16). So I think that that bodes well for what's coming next for the Jaguar fan base as far as his ability to handle the stage to make the transition to compete against the best of the best.
'You go back and look at that Alabama team, 2018, that was an unbelievable team, but he just never flinched. And that's what I love about him."
Fiesta Bowl Against Ohio State (2019)
"He gets knocked out of the game of play, and he comes back and I mean literally...a couple of moments later he rips off about a 50, 60-yard run. And so you saw his toughness, his competitiveness."
Beginning of Lawrence's Clemson Career
"His first play in the spring game in front of 50,000 or whatever was unbelievable. And then, and then the Texas A&M game (2018), you know, on the road. It was an incredible, incredible environment, and he throws that conversion route to Tee Higgins, which Tee takes on to score.
And then Georgia Tech (when Lawrence earned the starting role after the game). I believe it was (a TD pass) to (Hunter) Renfrow. (Lawrence) throws an absolute laser moving out to his left in a hole about that big. But the confidence, you just knew. I knew that we were gonna have a chance to be 15-0 and have a chance to win a national championship that year."
On Making Decision to Start Lawrence as a Freshman
"You know he was the best player, and those are tough, tough decisions along the way but and then you make that change, and there's obviously a lot of emotion and a lot of things involved in that. But to just see how he took it all in stride and to see how his teammates rallied around him because they knew, and then just to watch him be himself, and prepare week in and week out.
Lights got brighter and brighter all the way. He's incredibly humble, but he's incredibly competent, and that comes from, you know, his work ethic. So, it was awesome to see him perform and then especially know that he was going to be around for a couple more years. I knew we were gonna have a chance to win a few more games. Just a joy to be with day in and day out."
