Competitive Fire: Trevor Lawrence "irritated" at spring game loss

Lawrence throws a pass during last Saturday's spring game

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Apr 11, 2019, 2:35 PM

CLEMSON – Clemson fans were shocked when quarterback Trevor Lawrence made his way back out onto the playing field late in last weekend’s spring game. Most had assumed that Lawrence’s day was done at the half, but there stood Lawrence under center in the fourth quarter. What prompted his re-entry into the game?

His team was behind on the scoreboard, and Lawrence wanted to win.

The rising sophomore out of Georgia hasn’t had to deal with losing much during his football career, losing just a handful of times at Cartersville before helping lead Clemson to a 15-0 record last season. Lawrence has proven that he’s a winner, and winners want to win, scrimmage or not.

“We just wanted to win. We were still trying to win, so we were trying to score again, and I wish we could have put it in there at the end, so that's what we were trying to do,” Lawrence said.

He then added that bragging rights were on the line.

“That why I went back in. Like I said, I'm a little irritated,” Lawrence said. “The guys were talking before the game, just joking around, but everybody wants to win. This team is full of winners, and it's important to everyone even though it's just a spring game. Everybody wants to win. It's still just as big a deal.”

Lawrence said he feels like he improved over the spring.

“I feel like I have taken a step forward,” he said. “I wouldn't say it's my best spring that I feel like I could've had, but I think I learned a lot and got better for sure, just with leading, for one, and then just with the new guys it was ... at first we had to kind of get our timing down and all that with all the new receivers and all that stuff, so I feel like we got a lot better, though, as a team, grew closer together, so it was good.

“It's just been a lot different. It seems like it was not too long ago we were just playing last season, and now we're already finishing spring, so it's flown by, but yeah. It's been a little different, but I feel like once you get out there, it's the same thing, you know. Trying to practice and get ready for the season.”

With so many senior leaders on last year’s title-winning team, Lawrence didn’t have to take on a leadership role, but this year will be counted on to provide that leadership to a younger team.

“I feel like you focus on things a little differently as far as like, leadership is a big thing this spring for me that I wanted to work on as opposed to last spring,” Lawrence said. “You know, just getting here and trying to learn the offense and do all that stuff. Still trying to play the best I can, obviously, but focusing more on leadership this spring.”

Lawrence will head into the 2019 season with a lot of weapons at his disposal.

“We got a lot of play-makers. I mean, obviously the new guys Frank (Ladson) and Joe (Ngata)—they had a great spring, and Travis had a good spring,” Lawrence said. “Tavien (Feaster), Lyn-J (Dixon), those three guys had an awesome spring, got a lot better…We’ve had a good spring kind of just learning from each other, encouraging each other, so it's been really good.

“That’s a lot of good guys right there.”