Ohio State DC Calls Trevor Lawrence One of the 'Great College Quarterbacks of All-Time'
Greatness is hard to measure, but it's one of those things that when you see it, you know it.
Ohio State defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs knows what he sees when he watches Friday's opponent, Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
"He does so many things very, very well," Coombs said. "I would say he's arguably one of the great college football quarterbacks of all time based on his production and winning games."
"Arguably" is a term used quite often when throwing out this kind of superlative, but Lawrence is leaving a massive impression on those connected to the game. Coombs, a defensive assistant his entire career, has spent time on staffs run by Brian Kelly, Urban Meyer and Mike Vrabel (Tennessee Titans).
He's spent the last week game-planning for the College Football Playoff semifinal game in the Sugar Bowl against a QB who torched the Buckeyes with 107 rushing yards a year ago and led a go-ahead scoring drive late in the fourth quarter of last year's Fiesta Bowl, which Coombs didn't coach in because he was working in the NFL.
"He's deceptively fast. You will see when players have angles on him and he outruns the angle," Coombs said about Lawrence's running ability. "He is a play extender, and he does a great job of avoiding the rush, sidestepping the rush, getting outside the pocket, running the ball or extending the play and throwing the ball. And he makes very, very, very few poor decisions. I think he does a great job with his pre-snap recognition. He's got a plan in mind when he catches the snap, but when the plan is altered, he does a great job of adapting to that."
