There are two sides to K’Von Wallace as he and the Clemson Tigers get set to play LSU next Monday in the College Football Playoff National Championship in New Orleans.
On one side, he can wait to compete against Joe Burrow and LSU’s great wide receivers, while on the other side he says he is going to pray and hope for the best.
Regardless, the Clemson safety knows slowing down LSU’s offense is going to be a difficult task. To this point, no one has really slowed them down. The SEC’s Tigers average 48.9 points and 564.2 yards per game, both are No. 1 in the nation.
Burrow leads the nation with 55 touchdown passes and with a 77.6 completion percentage, while throwing for 372 yards per game. Then there are receivers like Justin Jefferson, Ja’Marr Chase, Terrence Marshall and tight end Thaddeus Moss.
“Each and every one of them can take it home,” Wallace said. “They take hitches to the house and they take deep balls to the house. They are good at what they do, and you can tell they take it seriously and they take pride in and love what they do.
“I cannot wait to compete. I cannot wait to go against whoever they have, to be one-on-one and whatever the case maybe. I can’t wait to compete and show the world that K’Von Wallace is someone to reckon with for sure.”
Wallace will have to do more than compete against LSU’s elite receivers. He also has to deal with Burrow, who is more than just a statue that stands in the pocket and throws the football.
Burrow is also a Houdini in the pocket. He has shown great ability to escape and keep plays alive. He constantly beat Georgia in the SEC Championship Game by avoiding pressure and extending plays. He did the same against Oklahoma in the Peach Bowl.
“We are going to see. We don’t know. We don’t know what he can do against us,” Wallace said. “We know what he did against other teams, but we don’t know what he can do against us. We don’t know if he can get there faster than we can. You don’t know. We know going against Ohio State, [Justin Fields] was a scrambling quarterback.
“We are going to have to hold as long as we can each and every week. Sometimes, even quarterbacks that you don’t think will scramble, sometimes get loose. So, you have to hold your coverage a lot longer. And week in and week out, we practice that.”
Wallace says Burrow deserves everything he has won to this point, and that the Heisman Trophy winner is without a doubt the best quarterback they have seen.
“It is just the way he delivers the ball, escapes and is smart. Everything he does is just great,” the Clemson senior said. “We practice with the best and we go against each other. Even the scout quarterback, we challenged him to make sure he gives us the best Joe Burrow that he can. Obviously, that is hard to resemble because of how great he is, but all we can do is work with what we got, pray and hope for the best.”
Clemson is going back to the national championship game after once again winning the Fiesta Bowl over Ohio State. Get your official national championship and Fiesta Bowl champs gear right here!
