CBS Sports weighs in with Clemson QB battle, Playoff predictions

Three CBS analysts sees Trevor Lawrence taking over a starter this season, at very different points of the season.

by Brandon Rink - Staff Writer - Wed Aug 01 12:30:12 GMT-04:00 2018

It’s not a matter of if, but when five-star freshman quarterback Trevor Lawrence takes over the Clemson offense this season, says a CBS Sports college football panel, and they regard Lawrence as a talent ready to lead the Tigers back to the national title game.

CBS Sports HQ, an online sports network for CBS, previewed the college football season Tuesday with some national predictions - the group also weighing in on Clemson’s quarterback situation.

College football analysts Barrett Sallee and Chip Patterson both picked Clemson to win the national title over a Big Ten opponent, in Penn State (Sallee) or Ohio State (Patterson).

“Whether Christian Wilkins, Dexter Lawrence, Austin Bryant, Clelin Ferrell, Kendall Joseph - there is so much talent there,” Patterson said. “Their own bar that they’ve set for themselves is ridiculous. They are going play by play and quarter by quarter demanding perfection of themselves. And they’ve been through it. These are players who have won a national championship two years ago.”

A trio of panelists, also including 247Sports’ Barton Simmons, analyzed the Clemson QB situation with Sallee among the boldest in just when Trevor Lawrence sees the field first.

“Trevor Lawrence is going to be their starting quarterback. I think he’s going to be their starting quarterback on week one against Furman and then against Texas A&M in week two,” Sallee said.

Patterson and Simmons see a more gradual transition, with Patterson projecting Lawrence as the starter by week four at Georgia Tech and Simmons picking further down the road at Florida State in late October.

“I think it’s a very similar situation to what’s going on at Alabama,” Simmons said. “Yes, Kelly Bryant can win you all those football games, but there’s going to be a point in the season when the offense is sluggish and mired in the mud and they can’t get things going. And Trevor Lawrence is going to step in - just like he did in the spring game - and it’s going to look beautiful.

“He’s going to look so pretty when he does (step in). And then there’s no turning back after that.”

Lawrence holds the key to opening up the deep passing game, per Simmons.

“When you look at this team, probably the single-best aspect of this offense - the toughest part of this offense to defend - is Tee Higgins on the perimeter,” Simmons said. “He’s going to be a breakout star in college football this year. Guess what - Kelly Bryant can’t get him the ball where he needs the ball 50 yards downfield. And I think because Trevor Lawrence unlocks that downfield passing game and because there’s going to be some moments over the season where they’ve got to have that vertical threat and got to have an explosive element outside the dink-and-dunk game and outside the quarterback run.

“Trevor Lawrence, by the time it gets the important games like the ACC Championship and the College Football Playoff, I think he will be the guy. I don’t think he will be sharing the role. It will be Trevor Lawrence’s team by that point.”

Patterson is buying into Swinney’s preseason philosophy that any of signal-callers on the depth chart can step in and win.

“I think Kelly Bryant is the sure-fire starter to start the year but I like Dabo Swinney’s conversation about it at ACC media days,” Patterson said. “I was talking to him about it and he said it was like you’re playing golf and you throw a tee in the air and you say, ‘You’re my partner. Let’s go. I feel like I can do that with any of these quarterbacks.' They feel like Clemson can achieve all of its goals with either Kelly Bryant or Trevor Lawrence.

“My prediction is that Trevor Lawrence does eventually win the job...But how Kelly Bryant, a senior, a player from South Carolina, an important player to this locker room - how he handles it will be very important.”