The Dabo Swinney in Clemson can be divided into two parts: before Deshaun Watson and after.
Watson took Clemson “to the Promised Land,” offensive coordinator Tony Elliott.
The 2014–16 Tigers beginner quarterback whose last school pass won the program’s first national championship since 1981, Watson formed a legacy as one of the formative figures in Clemson’s history “his will to win,” Swinney said.
“The kind of paved the way, ” said Swinney. ” I mean, this last practice opposed to Alabama to win the national championship with a moment is the quintessence of Deshaun Watson. “
Watson was the spark that replaced the trajectory of a program in the past explained through its own poor performance. Seeking Clemson in the most sensitive school football is just one component of his legacy; The fact that the Tigers remained there in the years following Watson’s last release illustrates the effect it had on their three seasons on campus.
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As he heads to the final game or games in his own three-year circular as the Tigers’ beginner quarterback, Trevor Lawrence’s legacy is particularly another: not necessarily bigger or worse, only much more global than being a game-changing character in the show’s history.
“No one has done better,” said Clemson defensive coordinator Brent Venables. “We were lucky to have some here. No one has done better than Trevor. “
In the end, he will have a case to be counted among the quarterbacks in the history of school football.
He compared to Peyton Manning and anointed the most productive hope in his draft elegance before the end of his first season, which crowned with his own impressive functionality to take Clemson beyond Alabama and win the national championship. From New York to Jacksonville, Lawrence represented the culmination of the suffering of NFL groups in a position to face depressing seasons over the possibility of recruiting generational talent.
Few players have been forced to deal with these kinds of hype, and even fewer, if any, lived up to those expectations and then surpassed them.
“It’s the first Trevor Lawrence, that’s how I would describe it. He’s the first, ” said Swinney. ” There will be many other people who will live up to the popular who established as a quarterback for a long time in this game. “
Lawrence was Clemson’s starter for three consecutive ACC championships, winning every meeting in each of the years. He was ACC Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year. Only one of the 24 convention games Lawrence started and finished was through less than 18 points.
In 2018, Lawrence was the true first-year quarterback in history to win the national championship after pitching for a total of 674 yards and six touchdowns in the playoffs against Notre Dame and Alabama. A year ago, Lawrence and Clemson reached the national championship game before losing it to LSU, the only loss of their career (Lawrence’s 34 wins are Clemson’s quarterback record).
“He only has one defeat as a starter, and it’s not just because he’s been a smart team,” said lead catcher Amari Rodgers. “It’s because of the competitor it is. Expect the most productive of all while you wait. the most productive of himself. He doesn’t like to lose and that can be said. “
After gaining more than 400 yards overall in Clemson’s win earlier this month against Notre Dame for the convention championship, Lawrence is the first quarterback to have success in the playoffs 3 times. (8 p. m. ET, ESPN) in a rematch of last season’s national semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl, won through Clemson.
With two more victories, Lawrence would be the eighth initial quarterback of the fashion era to win several national championships.
He pitched 30 touchdowns as a rookie. Thirty-six years ago, another 22 in 2020 out of nine games after missing two openings after a positive COVID-19 checkup, Lawrence has released 16 career interceptions in 1,090 attempts and also influenced games as a runner, with his floor 16 scores in the more than two seasons tied among force five quarterbacks.
A finalist in the Heisman Trophy in his youth, he is the most important player in Clemson’s history in winning the honor, joining Watson.
“There’s nothing sneaky about Trev, ” said runner Travis Etienne. “He’s the country player. Don’t sneak in on anyone. “
Lawrence’s movements in a tumultuous summer carry some other wrinkle on his legacy, Elliott said.
“I think the most vital thing for Trevor, his legacy will be his record. More vitally, I think it’s going to have an effect on him in school football with some of the positions he takes, in particular,” this season.
“Over time, you know what it is, the legend will grow. I look forward to what this legacy is along the way. “
While Clemson, like other programs, led protocols opposed to coronaviruses and national calculation of race and police brutality, Lawrence played a rare leadership role for a high-level quarterback: he was one of the organizers of a Black Lives Matter rally on campus. the death of George Floyd; increased the budget for coronavirus relief, which led the NCAA to oppose a policy that prohibits the use of names, symbols and similarities for collective funding and one of the most powerful voices of the #WeWantToPlay.
“I didn’t necessarily think about what my legacy would be, ” said Lawrence. “I need other people to communicate with my character more than the type of player I am or was. I just need to be a smart person, and I think that’s purpose number one for me.
“Obviously, the game and all that, all the distinctions, will end up talking about yourself. That’s not the most important thing to me. It’s just being a smart user and being a smart teammate. I hope that’s what other people say about me when I get out of here. “