Dexter Lawrence drawing rave reviews from Venables |
CLEMSON --
Dexter Lawrence, Clemson's true freshman defensive tackle, is drawing rave reviews from his defensive coordinator Brent Venables during his first week at Fall practice.
"Man, he is such a wonderful, young guy that likes to practice, likes to be coached hard, and never gets his lip stuck out," Venables said. "He knows how to compete. He's very talented, ultra talented in both his technique and his toughness and then his skill and mobility. He's pretty special." Lawrence showed off his tremendous athleticism at the end of Thursday's practice. "Just a real humble, hard working tough (guy)," Venables said. "He blocked a field goal there right at the end (of practice) with the game on the line. It still went through, but he blocked it." Venables was asked if he was impressed with the movement and speed of the 340-pound freshman. "Yeah, that's not normal," Venables said with a smile. "He has really fit in well. He's helped people around him get better. We got a great group. Up to this point, that front four and all those guys that are involved there are selfless, tough, hardworking, and coachable. It's fun." Lawrence was the #1 player in the state of North Carolina, the highest rated North Carolina prospect since 2012 (D.J. Humphries) and one of the top defensive lineman recruits in the entire country for the 2016 cycle. He finished his senior season in high school with 91 tackles, 13 sacks and 21 tackles for loss. His team was undefeated and was ranked #1 in the state before losing in the second round of the playoffs. As a junior, Lawrence accounted for 55 tackles, ten sacks, 25 tackles for loss, three blocked kicks and three forced fumbles. In his sophomore campaign, he had 19 tackles for loss.
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