Trevor Lawrence dropped NFL jaws, so let draft jockeying begin - New York Post

It’s apt his nickname is Sunshine, because Trevor Lawrence’s future is bright.

Even if, at the moment, that NFL future is distant.

The true freshman completed his meteoric rise to college football king Monday in Clemson’s stunning 44-16 dismantling of Alabama in the national title game, going 20-for-32 for 347 yards and three touchdowns, picking apart the Crimson Tide’s vaunted defense and stealing the spotlight from that other quarterback in the game, Tua Tagovailoa.

He was the consensus No. 1 prospect in high school coming out of Georgia. It took him five games to grab the starting spot from Kelly Bryant, who led Clemson to the College Football Playoff last season. And it took him four quarters on the biggest national stage to tell the world he was ready for the NFL now. Even if he’s not ready for the NFL now: The 19-year-old has to wait another two seasons before barging in.

“Trevor Lawrence is unreal,” Bleacher Report NFL scout analyst Matt Miller said.

“Trevor Lawrence is the best true freshman QB I’ve ever seen,” came from Gil Brandt, now with NFL.com and a former longtime Cowboys exec. “If I was running an NFL team, I’d be making trades for as many 2021 picks I could get my hands on.”

How about NFL players’ thoughts?

“#TrevorLawrence can start for at least 10 nfl teams right now,” Raiders receiver Brandon LaFell said.

“My man is a true freshman,” Texans quarterback — and former Clemson quarterback — Deshaun Watson told ESPN. “He’s got at least two more years to do work. He’s gonna be a legend. He already is. People know that now.”

They do. The teenager moved up and down and around the pocket like a seasoned NFL veteran, eluding the Alabama pass rush and buying time for stud receivers to get open. And when they did, he unleashed an arm that’s more cannon than limb. And it comes out of a 6-foot-5, 205-pound frame.

“You can talk about his physical skills all you want,” ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit said, via the San Francisco Chronicle. “To me it’s the ability, in this offense, especially when they go up-tempo, the ability not to make mental mistakes, process the coverage, get out of a bad play into a good play. That is just unbelievable. … He’s a once-in-a-generation type of guy.”

It’ll still, somehow, take two more seasons before that generation arrives in the NFL.

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