Barber: Trevor Lawrence grows up in Clemson’s 44-16 win over Alabama

SANTA CLARA

The champions assembled themselves at the podium, barely containing their joy. From left to right, it was Clemson head coach Dabo Swinney, offensive player of the game Trevor Lawrence and defensive player of the game Trayvon Mullen.

The bookends both wore caps that read “2019 NATIONAL CHAMPS” - a title the Tigers had just earned with a stunning 44-16 victory over Alabama. But Lawrence, the 19-year-old quarterback, removed his hat. Better to show off his luxurious blond mane, a head of hair that, combined with Lawrence’s long face and stoner grin, made him look like the gridiron version of Jeff Spicoli from “Fast Times at Ridgemont High.”

We are used to seeing college athletes grow up before our eyes. Over the course of a couple seasons, they evolve from exuberant boys into capable young men. Somehow, Lawrence had done it in a single evening.

His accelerated growth spurt was the factor that eliminated any chance the mighty Crimson Tide might have had at a comeback. And his coach took stock. When a reporter asked Lawrence after the game what the victory meant to him, Swinney turned toward his quarterback, beaming, and slapped him on the thigh. He looked more like Lawrence’s proud uncle than his coach.

On Clemson’s first three possessions, Lawrence had looked like a freshman. Which he is, of course. And not a redshirt, but a true freshman. A year earlier he was playing for Cartersville High School in Georgia. Lawrence turned 19 last October. He didn’t take over the starting job for the Tigers until they faced Syracuse in the fifth game of the season.

When the first quarter drew to a close Monday, Lawrence had completed 2 of 7 passes for 70 yards. He did lead the Tigers to a touchdown on one of those early possessions, helping them to a surprising 14-13 lead. But the one big throw he made, albeit a good one, was directed to a wide-open receiver for a 62-yard gain. A lot of kids could have made that throw.

Or at least that’s how I saw it. Lawrence wouldn’t cop to a rough start.

“It might have looked that way, but I didn’t really feel up and down,” he said. “I feel like we had a good plan and we knew what we were doing, and obviously every game there’s some adjustments, especially when they come out doing some stuff a little different than you might think they will.”

Lawrence became something of a sensation this year as he piloted Clemson to a 15-0 record, and with good reason. But his team is loaded with firepower on both sides of the ball. Was he really the spark? I doubted it when I watched the Tigers beat Notre Dame in a national semifinal. Lawrence’s teammates seemed to elevate him more than vice-versa in that one.

He certainly didn’t beat the Crimson Tide on his own. The Clemson offensive line was brilliant (Lawrence wasn’t sacked once, and was barely touched all night), and his receivers, particularly freshman Justyn Ross, were glue-fingered.

But as the night progressed, Lawrence went from cog to driving force. The poise was always there. When he tightened up his accuracy and timing, he became incredible. He finished 20 of 32 for 347 yards and three touchdowns.

One drive late in the third quarter, with Clemson already ahead 37-16, showed the full scope of Lawrence’s ability. He tossed a perfect back-shoulder fade to Diondre Overton for a first down at the left sideline. A few plays later, on third-and-12 from his own 25-yard line, Lawrence threaded a gorgeous pass to Ross near the right sideline; the receiver tipped and caught it for 37 yards. Later, on third-and-goal from the Alabama 5, Lawrence rocketed a strike over the middle that Tee Higgins reached out and snared for the knockout touchdown.

“Well, it was no surprise to me,” Alabama coach Nick Saban said. “I think he’s played extremely well all year long.”

Before the game, draft analysts were talking about Lawrence as a potential overall No. 1 draft pick, sometime in the hazy future. It was based on potential. By the end of this rout, Lawrence looked like he’d be in the conversation for No. 1 if he came out this year as a 19-year-old.

And so the trend continues. When I was a kid, quarterbacks were hot-house flowers that had to be lovingly cultivated over time. College passers tended to bide their time until they were upperclassmen. Pro QBs, no matter how gifted, most often sat for a year or three and learned the position at the elbow of some aging vet.

Those days are long gone. Rookie NFL quarterbacks like Baker Mayfield and Lamar Jackson are expected to step in right away, or at least battle for that opportunity. And we are also witnessing the rise of the college freshman.

In 2018, it was Lawrence’s Alabama counterpart, Tua Tagovailoa, who pushed himself into the conversation. He sat behind Jalen Hurts for most of the season, but came off the bench in the national championship game to carve up Georgia for the 2018 title. Tagovailoa, at least, was a redshirt freshman. Lawrence has set the bar even higher.

His preciousness is a combination of his own rare ability and the era in which he plays.

“Well, Trevor Lawrence is a special talent,” Saban said. “I saw him when he was a sophomore, and he was a special player as a sophomore in high school. And he’s playing in a good system, in a good scheme that’s somewhat similar to what he played in high school.

“And I think that - I got this asked at the press conference the other day, why are more freshmen able to play, especially at quarterback? And I think there’s a greater similarity with the offense that they grow up with and the offense that they play in college. So there’s a lot more similarities. And I think the quarterback position is a little easier now because it’s not all drop-back oriented. RPOs (run-pass options) have made it very simple for the quarterback in a lot of ways.”

Saban mentioned better training, too.

“We have seven-on-seven (camps) all over the country, we’ve got great quarterback coaches that help these guys develop early in their careers, but Trevor has always been a special talent in my mind,” he noted.

And remember, Lawrence is a true freshman. He’ll back to torment Saban next year, and perhaps the year after that. A new era, indeed.

You can reach columnist Phil Barber at 707-521-5263 or phil.barber@pressdemocrat.com. Follow him on Twitter: @Skinny_Post.