Boston College coach says Clemson made the right choice with Trevor Lawrence

Lawrence will make his first road night start at Boston College

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Fri Nov 09 07:01:03 GMT-04:00 2018

The entire college football world took notice when Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney made the decision to start freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence over senior Kelly Bryant, and many wondered if Swinney had made the right decision.

Boston College head coach Steve Addazio thinks the Tigers made the right call.

No. 2 Clemson plays at No. 17 Boston College Saturday at 8 pm in an ACC Atlantic showdown, and it will be the first night road start for the talented Lawrence. His other road starts have been in day games, and he didn’t start the night game at Texas A&M.

Addazio said there’s no reason to second-guess the decision made by Swinney and the Clemson staff.

“Well, it’s clear to me that Dabo and his staff, they know exactly what they’re doing,” Addazio during his weekly press conference.

The Clemson offense has been on a roll since Lawrence was named the starter. The Tigers are averaging 52.8 points and 564.6 points per game. In three games in the month of October, Clemson outscored its opponents by a total of 163-20. The 143-point scoring differential was Clemson's fourth-largest in a single month in program history. All three months with larger differentials came in months with at least four games.

The Tigers opened November with a 77-16 dismantling of Louisville, and Lawrence has proven to be one of the nation’s best. Lawrence has completed 84-of-128 passes (65.6 percent) for 949 yards, including 308 and 314 yards against NC State and Florida State. He threw nine touchdowns and just one interception in that span.

“Here’s a guy that throws the ball really, really at a high level,” Addazio said. “I mean, he’s very accurate, he’s athletic, he can run the read-zone game. But he’s an elite thrower. And so, it gives them a dominant run game and a dominant throw game. He appears to have tremendous confidence and poise to him, as well.”

Former Clemson quarterbacks Tucker Israel, Hunter Johnson, and Zerrick Cooper transferred before the season started, and once Bryant was benched he made the decision to transfer. Addazio said that not many teams could lose four quarterbacks and still find a way to excel.

“You know, I heard Dabo say they had three great quarterbacks, now they have two, but it’s a testament to the way they’ve recruited,” Addazio said. “I mean, to have the level of quarterbacks they have on their roster is very, very impressive. Trevor is a guy that’s very talented. Super talented. And I think he gives them that real dimension of a real dominant thrower that complements their sensational run game.”