Rankings disagree on Lawrence being nation's best QB

Lawrence got the better of Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa in their first meeting in January.

by TigerNet Staff - Jun 12, 2019, 2:48 PM

Clemson and Alabama are college football's undisputed superpowers - and that competition stretches from the scoreboard in Playoff games to individual accolades.

Clemson's Trevor Lawrence and Alabama's Tua Tagovailoa are currently tied atop the Heisman odds and that's making ranking a No. 1 QB difficult for college football pundits.

Athlon's Steve Lassan ranked 2018 Heisman finalist Tua Tagovailoa at the top this week in a ranking of QBs in all FBS programs.

"Tagovailoa started all 15 games and accounted for 3,966 passing yards and 43 scores (both single-season records at Alabama)," Lassan wrote. "He tossed only six picks over 355 attempts, completed 69 percent of his throws, earned Athlon Sports first-team All-America honors and added another 190 yards and five scores on the ground. Tagovailoa finished second in the Heisman race last fall and another trip to New York is likely in store as the leader for the Crimson Tide’s high-powered offense."

Recent rankings and projections from USA TODAY and 247Sports have Lawrence coming out on top in 2019.

"Lawrence tossed just four interceptions against 30 touchdowns during his first year on campus, capped by his 347-yard, near-perfect performance against the Crimson Tide," USA TODAY's Paul Myerberg wrote. "That's just a taste of what's to come for a sophomore already compared to some of the great prospects at his position in recent history — including Peyton Manning."

"He has all the tools to be one of the college game's best ever and no surprise he is the Heisman frontrunner in 2019 for the defending national champions," 247Sports' Brad Crawford wrote.

Lawrence started the final 11 games of the 2018 season and the Tigers won by 20 or more in the final 10 contests. He was a freshman All-American and the Archie Griffin Award winner for college football's MVP.