Video: Trevor Lawrence 2017 highlights
Clemson-bound quarterback has thrown 30 touchdowns and one interception in eight games.Trevor Lawrence is poised to break every Georgia high school career passing record held by Deshaun Watson, the Houston Texans quarterback who is making the NFL look far too easy.
Lawrence, the 6-foot-6, 208-pound senior from
Cartersville, is 105 yards and six touchdown passes from breaking Watson's career marks of 13,077 yards and 155 touchdowns while at Gainesville. He'll likely break both records Friday when the Hurricanes (8-0) host Chapel Hill (5-2).
Lawrence is finishing off an illustrious career in style with 118 completions this season in 161 attempts (73 percent) for 2,360 yards, 30 touchdowns and one interception. That's a gaudy quarterback rating of 152.2.
For his career, he's been a model of consistency with 788 completions in 1,241 attempts (64 percent), for 12,972 yards with 150 touchdowns and 21 interceptions.
With up to seven games left, he should obliterate Watson's marks by a wide margin.
But that's just part of Lawrence's resume.
He's led the Hurricanes to two straight class AAAA titles and 38 consecutive wins, the sixth-longest current win streak in the nation.
On top of that, Lawrence, with a big, accurate arm and poise to match, is the No. 2-ranked senior recruit in the country, according to 247Sports.
On Dec. 15, he committed to follow Watson's footsteps at Clemson. Lawrence's list of 24 offers included Alabama, Georgia, Michigan, Oklahoma and Texas, and he probably would have had more had he not committed so early.
"For a body of work, that's about as good as it can get," said Todd Holcomb, an Atlanta Journal-Constitution staff writer since 2001 and founding member of the Georgia High School Football Historians Association. "What else can you do?"
If Lawrence finished with another state title, a 45-game win streak and gobs more statistical numbers, he won't merely be considered the best quarterback to come out of Georgia, but one of the most accomplished high school quarterbacks ever.
Here's a short list of past and more recent quarterbacks often mentioned on all-time great high school lists: Peyton Manning, John Elway, Jake Browning, Maty Mauk, Johnny Manziel, Tate Martell, Kyler Murray and Watson.
Manning and Elway were top recruits in their class and played on winning teams, but neither starred in the video game-number era. Their statistics look pedestrian compared to the rest on the list.
Browning (16,775 passing yards, 229 touchdowns in three years) and Mauk (18,932 and 219 in four years) put up crazy numbers, but Browning won one state title (Mauk none) and neither was a 5-star recruit.
Manziel (11,538 total yards, 153 total TDs), Martell (9,801, 148) and Murray (14,525, 186) put up more than impressive passing and rushing numbers. Like Lawrence, Martell and Murray both finished with long win streaks and won multiple national and state titles. But all three were 3- and 4-star recruits based largely on their lack of height.
Lawrence is a 5-star recruit. He's tall, fits all the measurables and could finish with upwards of 15,000 career passing yards, which would place him top-10 all-time.
"All (his) boxes are checked in bold," Holcomb said.
And though he bolded all Lawrence's boxes, Holcomb would still pick Watson head-to-head. Barely.
Watson also rushed for 4,057 career yards and 59 touchdowns, giving him 17,134 total yards and 214 TDs. He won one state title and was a 4-star prospect, No. 41 overall in the Class of 2013. Did we mention he's now a leading Rookie of the Year candidate for the Texans?
"Deshaun could beat you in more ways (than Lawrence)," Holcomb said. "Deshaun rushed for more than 4,000 in his career. Think about that. That's a great career for a running back. He also played at a higher level. … Trevor was more consistent. Deshaun was more likely to have an off game, but at his best, I'd probably go with him."
Interestingly, the one player ranked over Lawrence currently as a 2018 recruit is another Georgia quarterback.
Justin Fields of Harrison (Kennesaw, Ga.) had a big performance over the summer at The Opening, won the Elite 11 competition and grabbed the No. 1 spot from Lawrence.
In 18 starts over two seasons, the 6-3, 221-pound Fields has passed for 4,007 yards, 40 touchdowns and eight interceptions and rushed for 1,886 yards and seven scores.
Said Holcomb of the Georgia commit: "He's as good as anybody right now, but he hasn't been as great for as long as Trevor."
