In high school, Trevor Lawrence was the man.
The nation’s No. 1 ranked player by Rivals and 247 Sports, Lawrence led his Cartersville (Ga.) High School team to a 52-2 record as a starter the last four seasons. He helped the Hurricanes win back-to-back State Championships, including a 41-game winning streak at one point.
In the process, Lawrence broke former Clemson quarterback, and two-time Heisman Trophy Finalist, Deshaun Watson’s Georgia High School state passing records for career yards (13, 908) and touchdowns (161).
However, Lawrence is no longer the big man on campus. After enrolling at Clemson in January, Lawrence will enter the spring as the No. 4 quarterback in Brandon Streeter’s quarterback room, behind starting quarterback Kelly Bryant, backup Hunter Johnson and redshirt freshman Chase Brice.
But don’t think that is affecting the true freshman. Streeter, Clemson’s quarterbacks coach, says Lawrence’s transition from high school to college has been a smooth one so far.
“He is beaming every time I see him in the hallway or up here getting something to eat,” Streeter said. “He is just excited about being here. He has made a bunch of friends. He knew a lot of them already. But he is really, really enjoying being here at college.”
The Tigers’ quarterbacks coach has no doubt Lawrence is going to make a great adjustment to the college game because he understands the big picture, something Streeter said he picked up on during the recruiting process with Lawrence.
“He has all the tools. He has all of the intangibles and he is a go-getter,” Streeter said. “So when you have the combination of those things and the talent that he has, he has a chance to be very, very special.”
Streeter says Lawrence has been working hard in the last month to get ready for spring practice. Though the coach is not allowed to sit in the meeting room with his players during this time of the year, he gets reports that Lawrence is in there working and putting the time in to try and learn the offense and get better.
The Clemson coach said he is also proud of the way Bryant and the other two quarterbacks have taken Lawrence under their wings and are helping him learn the offense.
“They have been working together with him to help him,” Streeter said. “Not just because it makes Trevor better, but because it makes Kelly Bryant, Hunter Johnson and Chase Brice better by trying to explain the offense to him … it kind of works together for everyone.”