Trevor Lawrence is not going to lie. The Clemson quarterback would love to win the Heisman Trophy, but winning college football’s most coveted individual award is not his end game.

“Obviously, I can’t sit here and say it wouldn’t be awesome and really cool to win the award, but I just want to win. That has been my thing ever since I have been here. I just don’t say that because it sounds good. I want to win,” Lawrence said.

In fact, Lawrence prefers to play an okay game and win as opposed to playing a great game and losing. The good news for top-ranked Clemson is he mostly has played great and won. The junior is considered the top prospect in next April’s NFL Draft, plus he is 29-1 as the Tigers’ starting quarterback.

“That is just how I have been. That’s how I have been brought up,” Lawrence said. “The teams I have been on, I have been fortunate enough to be on teams that have won a lot of games. So, when you lose one, I hate that feeling. I hate losing. That is my main focus, winning.”

Lawrence has played a big role in why the Tigers (4-0, 3-0 ACC) keep winning. When he was a freshman, he was the MVP of the Tigers’ Cotton Bowl win over Notre Dame and followed that up with an MVP performance in the national championship win over Alabama.

Last year, he helped Clemson get back to the title game with another MVP effort in leading the Tigers in a come-from-behind victory over Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl.

This year Lawrence is pacing the field in the Heisman Trophy race. The Cartersville, Ga., native has already completed 84-of-116 passes (72.4 percent) for 1,140 yards and 10 touchdowns with no interceptions.

Lawrence currently leads the ACC in touchdown passes and he is one of just two quarterbacks in the conference not to throw an interception. His 183.4 efficiency rating leads the ACC and ranks sixth nationally. He also leads the conference in completion percentage and yards per attempt (9.8) which ranks seventh nationally.

But none of that matters to Lawrence. He just wants to play well and put his team in position to win.

“I know the way we operate here at Clemson and Coach (Dabo) Swinney does a great job that we build our depth. I just love when other guys get opportunities to play,” the quarterback said. “So, my goal is to get in there and take care of business, and the whole offense take care of business, so those other guys can get in there and play.

“So, we are not looking to pad stats or make ourselves look better than we are. We are into winning games and play the best we can. I know that sometimes that can go one way or the other, but, man, I just want to win. If (the Heisman) comes along with it, I will be super honored and I will be grateful for it. It would be really cool for myself and for Clemson… I don’t think about it too much. It is definitely dangerous if you start thinking about that stuff too much.”

A great gift for any Tiger fan. Just one of many great items available from Clemson Variety & Frame