New York Post, Sunday, October 25, 2020

nypost.com

By ZACH BRAZILLER

J

ETS FANS have a glimmer of

hope. Something to look for-

ward to other than another

losing season.

This could be a winless

campaign — the worst season in

this franchise’s mostly ugly history

— but there may be a prize waiting

for Gang Green if 0-16 becomes a

reality. Following the dreadful 1996

1-15 campaign under Rich Kotite, it

was a Hall of Fame coach, Bill Par-

cells. In 2020, it may be a quarter-

back — a generational quarterback.

His name is Trevor Lawrence

— the long blond-haired Heisman

Trophy favorite from Clemson, a

championship-winning 6-foot-6,

220-pound quarterback who has

been considered the No. 1 pick in

this draft for years, since he took

Nick Saban’s Alabama defense

behind the woodshed in the title

game his freshman year.

He’s considered the best quar-

terback prospect since Andrew

Luck in 2012, a player who can

immediately lift a franchise. He

entered college as the top-rated

prospect in the country and has

somehow surpassed the lofty

hype that comes with that high

ranking and the can’t-miss label.

“[John] Elway, Peyton [Manning],

Luck, Lawrence — they’re in that

separate category,” Mel Kiper Jr.,

ESPN’s draft guru, told The Post.

Lawrence has the complete

package, analysts, coaches and

scouts The Post spoke with all

agreed. On NFL Sundays, Tanking

for Trevor has become a popular

hashtag. He’s already said this will

be his last year in college.

Let his coach, Dabo Swinney,

break him down:

“You want size? You got it. You

want a guy that can run? You got

it,” he said over Zoom recently.

“You want a guy that has a great

football IQ? You got it. You want a

guy that’s a great leader? You got

it. You want a guy that loves to

work, loves to prepare, same guy

every day? You got it. You want a

guy that’s humble? You got it.

“You want a guy that makes

everybody else better, doesn’t ask

any more from anybody than he’s

willing to give? You got it.

“You want a guy that’s accurate?

You got it. You want a guy that’s

got great pocket presence? You got

it. You want a guy that’s got tough-

ness and ain’t afraid to go get a

first down? You got it. You want a

guy that’s going to give you every

ounce of what he’s got? You got it.

“So I don’t know what you

could want in a quarterback that

he doesn’t possess.”

THE SKILLS

Lawrence has lost two games

dating back to his sophomore year

of high school. He’s played

in four College Football

Playoff games and has yet

to throw an interception.

He’s started 32 games at

Clemson and lost once, pro-

duced 97 touchdowns through

the air and on the ground, com-

pleted 66.7 percent of his passes

and thrown 14 interceptions. He

has elite-level arm strength and

can break the pocket when it is

required — his 107 rushing yards

in the playoff victory over Ohio

State last year is one example —

while his ability to read defenses

has improved considerably.

“Most quarterbacks only do

one of those things well,” Virginia

defensive coordinator Nick How-

ell said. “He does all three of those

things at a high level.”

North Carolina coach Mack

Brown said Lawrence is “one of

the best to ever play” at the college

level, and he coached Heisman

runner-up Vince Young at Texas.

Kiper doesn’t have any concerns

about Lawrence at the next level,

citing his physical gifts, leadership

qualities and football IQ.

Former Giants quarterback

and SiriusXM college football

analyst Danny Kanell said with

most quarterbacks drafted in

the first round there is a 50/50

chance of them reaching their

ceiling. He raised that to 80/20

with Lawrence, and the 80 was

him being a Hall of Famer.

Swinney compared him favor-

ably to two-time NFL Pro Bowl

quarterback and former Clem-

son star Deshaun Watson, not-

ing Lawrence is 3 inches taller

and has a bigger arm. The same

characteristics that have turned

Watson into an NFL star with the

Texans — his physical talent com-

bined with his leadership ability

and relentless work ethic — Law-

rence shares. Like Watson, he’s on

pace to graduate in three years.

“I don’t know if I would ever

coach another guy like Deshaun

that just loved to prepare and is

focused on being great that he

doesn’t get distracted by other

things,” Swinney said. “And Trevor

and Deshaun are the exact same.”

In Lawrence’s first two seasons,

the Cartersville, Ga., native was

surrounded by incredible talent,

with 13 teammates taken in the NFL

draft. This year, he lost four starting

offensive linemen and his two best

receivers. Nevertheless, he is off to

his best start, with 17 touchdown

passes, two interceptions and a

70.6 percent completion mark. The

Heisman Trophy is his to lose.

In arguably the biggest moment

of his career, as a true freshman fac-

ing Alabama, Lawrence threw for

347 yards and three touchdowns

in a rout. He followed that up by

leading Clemson back to the

national title game.

“He can do everything that

everyone else can do at a

higher level — and he’s a

championship winner,”

an AFC scout said. “He

is a can’t-miss guy.

When you have tal-

ent the way he has it,

production the way

he has it, character

the way he has it, that’s usually why

you are a can’t miss.”

George Whitfield Jr., the personal

quarterback coach for Luck during

his rise and a longtime private quar-

terback tutor who has worked with

Cam Newton, Donovan McNabb

and Jameis Winston, gives his for-

mer pupil the slight edge over Law-

rence in arm strength and develop-

ment at this stage. But Whitfield

said Lawrence is the better athlete

and he hasn’t seen a quarterback

prospect since Luck that compares

with Lawrence.

“You take the sum total of what

he is right now — tall statement

— I think he’s one of the 20 best

quarterbacks in all of football,”

Whitfield said.

Whitfield has been most

impressed with the strides Law-

rence is making in terms of his

on-field maturity. Stanford coach

David Shaw used to rave about

how Luck would make up for a bad

play call or an offensive lineman

missing a block by making the best

out of nothing. He could avoid a

sack and throw the ball away or use

his legs for a short gain instead of

committing the big mistake. Live to

make another play instead of creat-

ing a bigger hole.

“Someone who lacks maturity is

going to try to cowboy their way

out of it. And now instead of third-

and-10, it’s third-and-25 because

they wanted to be Superman in

that moment as opposed to a first

responder,” Whitfield said. “That’s

what I’m watching now when I’m

watching Trevor. Mitigating dam-

age is everything.”

THE DRIVE

Forget for a moment the rocket

arm. Put the ridiculous statistics,

his nearly unblemished record

LAW

OF THE LAND

Jets’ reward for historic misery could be most

celebrated QB since Elway, Manning and Luck

THE PROBLEM SOLVER: If the Jets finish in position to

select star Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence (above)

with the No. 1 pick in next year’s draft, Gang Green fans

may no longer be afraid to show themselves in public. AP (3)