Sunday night insider: Swinney updates Trevor Lawrence injury, position on Bryant

Swinney says he wishes Lawrence would have thrown the ball away

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Sunday, September 30, 2018, 7:04 PM

Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney says quarterback Trevor Lawrence should be able to work out this week but his status for next Saturday’s game at Wake Forest is up in the air.

Lawrence was injured late in the first half of the Tigers’ 27-23 victory over Syracuse and didn’t return after entering concussion protocol.

Swinney told the media on his Sunday afternoon conference call that Lawrence’s timetable is in the hands of the Clemson training staff.

"That's all Danny Poole. He was really good. He was trying to come back in the game yesterday but any time you get something with the head-neck area, there is no room for error there,” Swinney said. “He was really good after the game and really good this morning. Felt great. I think they were very encouraged with what they saw. He'll work out and they'll continue to reevaluate him. Hopefully, they put him back in practice this week.”

He then said that he wishes Lawrence would have thrown the ball away.

"I would have liked for him to throw the ball away. We had a nice, clean pocket,” Swinney said. John Simpson got on the side of his guy and flushed him out. Trevor was just trying to escape. He could have thrown it away. Don't be out of control diving forward. It was sort of a neck strain in how he got hit. Definitely felt he could have gotten rid of the ball. And he'll learn that as he continues to play."

Swinney refused to answer questions about former quarterback Kelly Bryant.

“No. And you said it; I'm not entertaining any questions on guys that aren't here,” he said.

Backup quarterback Chase Brice was deep on the depth chart last winner but saved the day with his Sunday heroics.

“He came here and was just kind of typical of most college kids. Most know it's going to be a journey and a process. When he came here and committed here, that was after Trevor had committed. We already had Kelly and Zerrick Cooper, plus Hunter Johnson had already committed,” Swinney said. “To this day Chase has never asked me a question about any quarterback we've recruited or someone else on the roster. He's just focused on getting better. I love a guy like that.

"He has worked hard over the last year. He was the fourth guy going in during the spring. Chase had a great spring, summer and fall camp. He earned the trust of his teammates. You have to do it in the game. He can say he's done it in a game now and can draw on that experience.

“That's huge. It goes back when we won the national title two years ago. Deshaun Watson was our starter and our team had a lot of confidence in Nick Schuessler. That was good for them to see then. This is a different deal. Chase has a really high upside to him. He has proven he can win a game and put a 94-yard drive together if you need him to."

The status of Cornell Powell and Mark Fields

“Mark should be back tomorrow as long as he does what he needs to do. With Cornell, that's out of my hands. He's got a situation that has to be resolved and hopefully it gets resolved this week. If not, I'll let you know."

On the performance of Gage Cervenka

"I thought he played outstanding outside of the fact that he jumped offsides on fourth and one. He settled us down. Tremayne Anchrum couldn't go after a couple of series. We rotated with

Cade Stewart and Gage and he made us better. He had some great blocks, some great finishes. He played some center, too. I was very encouraged with him. I thought he'd be a huge factor for us coming into the season. I'm really excited about his development."