Swinney on Trevor Lawrence: He needs to "keep doing what he's doing" |
| - Thursday, September 19, 2019, 11:30 AM |
Heisman hype marked
Trevor Lawrence's offseason but his early odds
have dropped with each interception, already up to a career-high five picks.
Clemson coach Dabo Swinney is far from pushing any panic button, however, with the super sophomore coming off a career-high in passing yards (395) and averaging 10.5 yards per carry with a rushing TD at Syracuse. “He gets all the blame for those things and that just kinda goes with the quarterback job," Swinney said on Charlotte's WFNZ radio. "He just needs to keep doing exactly what he’s doing. If he’ll keep doing what he’s doing, we’re going to win a lot of games. That’s all I needed to do. He’s doing a great job. He’s a great preparer. He’s an unbelievable leader. He’s got a great will to win. "He’s certainly not perfect. Nobody else is. He doesn’t need to be perfect. We need him to continue to be the same person that he’s been every single day.” Swinney says Lawrence improved immensely as a player at the college level. “That’s what people focus on is the negative," Swinney said, who only attributed two of the INTs to being definitely Lawrence's fault. "I’m so impressed with the change in his game from this time last year. So much smarter. He’s stronger. He’s faster...He is the leader of this team. It’s a natural thing for him. It’s not a struggle for him to do that. He’s really asserted himself that way...We really challenged him to make plays with his legs...He’s been incredible. His navigation of the pocket. His ownership of the protections. He is in command out there... "We are scoring more points and averaging more yards through three games than any time in Clemson history, but yet we’re still a long way away from playing our best football. So I’m very encouraged by what he’s done and definitely know he will continue to improve.”
