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No player will have a bigger impact on the national championship
chase in 2019 than Trevor Lawrence. Clemson’s rocket-armed
sophomore quarterback is coming off a 347-yard, three-TD
performance in a 44–16 win against Alabama in the title game.
The expectations are sky high for a team looking to repeat as
national champions.
Lawrence is far from a one-man band, though. Clemson is
stacked at the offensive skill positions, led by junior RB Travis
Etienne. The Louisiana native ran for 1,658 yards in 2018, tallying
24 rushing TDs. He has a knack for punching the ball in from near
the goal line, but also enough speed to break off big runs.
Clemson’s receiving corps just might be the best unit in the
nation. As a freshman, Justyn Ross caught two touchdowns against
Notre Dame in the College
Football Playoff semifinals and
then burned Alabama for 153
yards and a score a week later.
Tee Higgins, a 6' 4" junior, led
the team with 12 TDs.
The Tigers had four
defensive players—including
three linemen—taken in the
first 40 picks of the NFL draft.
Replacing that kind of talent
won’t be easy, but coordinator
Brent Venables has put
2018 RECORD: 15– 0
14 / SPORTS ILLUSTRATED KIDS
