Steele: Trevor Lawrence leading Clemson to Playoff in 2018 |
College football analyst Phil Steele has already projected Clemson
making a fourth-straight Playoff run.
How do they get there? A freshman quarterback leading the way. Steele was a guest on Charlotte (NC)’s WFNZ this week and offered his prediction on how the Clemson quarterback situation works out, which features a battle to come this August and beyond between returning starter Kelly Bryant and 5-star first-year talent Trevor Lawrence. “I’m going to go outside of the box on the Clemson (QB situation). I’m actually going to project Trevor Lawrence to win the job there over Kelly Bryant,” Steele said. “I know Bryant is the starter and did extremely well at the start of the year, but this Trevor Lawrence is quite a talent. He’s 6-5 205 and highly-skilled. Remember Bryant was a first-year starter last year. I think Lawrence beats him out for the starting job at Clemson.” Steele is also high on the Clemson defense, which should be strong enough to navigate some road tests. “That’s the best defensive line in college football and probably the best defense,” he said. "You have Trevor Lawrence there. The running back corps looks solid. They’ve got my No. 8 set of running backs. My No. 8 team in receivers - even the offensive line, my No. 8 team in the country. Probably my only question with Clemson might be the special teams. Also the fact that they have to play Florida State on the road, Boston College, Georgia Tech, Texas A&M, but they’ll be favored in every game this year, and remember, Clemson was No. 1 at the end of the regular season last year. “I think Clemson and Bama - you can pretty much put them in pen for the Playoff this year.” Steele is projecting another Miami and Clemson ACC Championship game and sees Boston College as a surprise team that “puts some scares” into higher-rated opponents this season. In the national picture, he sees Georgia, Washington and Ohio State as teams that could prevent a third Clemson-Alabama championship in four seasons.
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