Swinney compares Trevor Lawrence to NBA All-Star Steph Curry |
Clemson head coach
Dabo Swinney is a big fan of the NBA, and he doesn’t mind comparing his quarterbacks to some of basketball’s all-time greats. First, he compared
Deshaun Watson to Michael Jordan, and Friday, he compared
Trevor Lawrence to Steph Curry.
Lawrence, who will have surgery on his left (non-throwing) shoulder next Tuesday, held a workout for 16 NFL teams in the Poe Indoor Facility Friday. Swinney stood a few yards in front of Lawrence with new Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer – the Jags have the No. 1 overall pick in April’s NFL Draft and are expected to pick Lawrence. Swinney spoke with the media following the event and said it was fun to watch – like watching Curry shoot a basketball. “Well, this is about an easy evaluation of a throwing session as you can have. I mean, obviously, he's only trained for two weeks, he took three weeks off,” Swinney said. “He's trained for two weeks, a new ball and different things. But he went through the script and did what he needed to do. It's a beautiful thing to watch, it's like watching Steph Curry shoot a basketball, it's just fun to watch. It's fun to watch this guy throw it. And I thought he did a great job today.” Swinney said he spent the morning with Meyer and hopes Meyer and the Jaguars take Lawrence. “We met this morning privately and then we had kind of a group session and then obviously opportunity to talk while he was throwing. I've known coach a long time and I've got great respect for him,” Swinney said. “We've had good conversations about Trevor, but he's seen him. I think he knows him very well -- he's seen him live for really the past three years. Hopefully, that's where he'll end up, but I mean that's why Trevor's out here to throw today because he wanted to go ahead and get the surgery behind him. “He doesn't want to assume anything, take anything for granted. He wanted to show anybody that shows up that he'll come out here and throw, especially on limited time. Instead of waiting until March the 13th or 14th to get the surgery, he can go in and get it done on Tuesday and he's getting married April 10th, so he'll just be a lot further along and ready to go when they get to the summer.” Lawrence made all the throws and made it look easy, but Swinney said it’s the intangibles that make Lawrence an easy choice at No. 1. “His skill set and his measurables, they're unique and easy to see, they're obvious. It's the immeasurables, those intangibles that really make him special,” Swinney said. “He's just a great young man, first of all, he's been in the spotlight for a long time. I mean this kid, since the ninth grade, he's been Trevor Lawrence and he has this huge presence. He’s 34-2 as a starter, he never lost a home game, he never lost a road game. His two losses were in neutral field games. He's an incredible winner, he's got an unbelievable football mind, and a great football IQ. He's got great film, he's played against the best of the best and you can watch all the tape. “I think as football people, we know you practice this game a lot more than you play it and how he's been challenged in practice here for a long time against a great defense and great scheme and all these things. Again, he's just so prepared from a mental standpoint, but he's a great leader, he's a great teammate. I think he has a chance to be one of these international, global-type NFL stars as he goes throughout his career. Simply because he's one of those guys that a lot of times you don't know who the guy is when they take their helmet off in the game of football, but Trevor -- helmet or no helmet -- he's easy to spot both on and off the field. I just love his balance in life, he's got a great family, great support system, he's simple, he's getting married to his middle school sweetheart on April the 10th. He looks like Hollywood and he's the most un-Hollywood guy you'd ever meet. He's about his business and everything about him will translate very well and work in the NFL.” Lawrence also took a step forward in the leadership department this past season. “When he first came in here, he's trying to earn the respect and everybody get to know who he is. And then last year he was becoming the leader of the offense,” Swinney said. “And then this year it was to become the leader of the team. And then with all the things that happened in our world and things that happened with this pandemic, I think he became a leader of college football and probably could argue that he's one of the main reasons that we played college football. He didn't have to play this year. “But the leadership that he took upon himself as a player, as a voice for all those players to kind of change the narrative -- #WeWantToPlay deal. I think that really says it all. Again, this is a kid that didn't have to play a snap, but you can watch from the very beginning and how he fought to play to watch the last three or four minutes of the Ohio State game when the game is over and he's still playing like it's a three-point game. That's leadership, that's commitment, that's a mentality that's hard to coach.” “It’s a beautiful thing to watch. It’s like watching @StephenCurry30 shoot a basketball. It’s just fun to watch this guy throw it.”
—Dabo Swinney on Trevor Lawrence’s @ClemsonFB Pro Day pic.twitter.com/htlT6hTFfg
Upgrade Your Account
Unlock premium boards and exclusive features (e.g. ad-free) by upgrading your account today.
Upgrade Now
