Clemson football QB Trevor Lawrence has had his ups-and-downs over the course of 2019, but he still is on pace with 2016 Deshaun Watson.
If you ask anyone around the nation, they’ll tell you that Trevor Lawrence has not looked the same over the course of this 2019 Clemson football season.
Lawrence, a true-sophomore, has yet to play up to the level that he did against Alabama in the National Championship game- where he was awarded Offensive MVP honors. Because of that, he has fallen out of the Heisman Trophy discussion and many analysts are noting that he is in a ‘Sophomore slump,’ and that he has ‘regressed from last season.’
Though Lawrence hasn’t looked like himself, making some bad decisions and missing on throws that he would typically hit, the vast majority of the nation is overreacting at this point.
For whatever reason, the Clemson football offense just hasn’t been in sync yet. The Tigers have struggled moving the football despite having plenty of NFL-caliber talent all around the unit.
As we’ve noted, Lawrence has missed on some passes that he normally makes, his deep ball has been off at times and he has made a few bad decisions.
Despite all of that, he is still on pace with one of the all-time greats of the Clemson football program. Former Clemson SID and current Radio Color Analyst Tim Bourrett did some research and found some eerily similar numbers between Trevor Lawrence in 2019 and Deshaun Watson through the first five games of the 2016 season.
Keep in mind that the Tigers went on to win the National Championship and Watson was a Heisman finalist that year.
Here’s a look at four of those notable stats and what they mean going forward.
4. Interception Totals
So, through the first five games of the season, Trevor Lawrence has a total of five interceptions. We’ve been reminded over and over again how he only had three over the course of the entire season his freshman year.
Despite that, it should be remembered that Deshaun Watson had eight interceptions through the first five games of his 2016 season.
Both Lawrence and Watson have had times where they’ve forced the ball into tight windows. Watson learned from some of those early mistakes- though he still finished with a high interception rate that season- and continued to improve.
Nothing less should be expected of Trevor Lawrence.
3. Completion Percentage
Trevor Lawrence has completed 61.8 percent of his passes to this point, which is actually better than Watson’s 60.8 percent completion rate through five games in 2016.
Though Lawrence has missed the target on several occasions, people forget that Watson had a few accuracy issues early in the 2016 season, as well.
It didn’t deter him from throwing the ball or making plays.
Watson ended up improving that completion percentage as the Tigers opened up the offense. Trevor Lawrence will have the same result.
2. Passer Efficiency
Here’s a stat that many don’t understand.
Passer Efficiency measures the performance of quarterbacks, calculating the passer’s number of attempts, completions, yards, touchdowns and interceptions.
Through five games in 2016, Deshaun Watson had a passer rating of 138.98. Trevor Lawrence currently has a passer rating of 143.7.
Though Lawrence has certainly struggled, it’s clear that he’s still getting the job done in some regards or these stats wouldn’t be adding up the way they are.
1. Yards Per Attempt
Yards per attempt is one of the best ways to measure an efficient quarterback. Yards per attempt is a relatively new stat that we use to look at how many yards a quarterback is throwing for versus the attempts.
It’s a much more helpful stat than yards per completion.
This shows us a measurement of efficiency, accuracy and ability to move the ball all in one number. Trevor Lawrence’s YPA is currently 8.3 and Watson’s was 7.2 in 2016 at the same time.
That’s an extra yard per attempt that the Tigers are gaining through the air with Trevor Lawrence versus Deshaun Watson in the same time period. Watson ended the 2016 season with a YPA number of 7.9.
This post isn’t to say that Trevor Lawrence is Deshaun Watson or that he’s better than Watson. This is a reminder to Clemson football fans that the season is long. Just like Lawrence, Watson had his down moments even during one of the best seasons in Clemson football history. We just can’t remember those as well because of how high the highs were.
Trevor Lawrence has certainly had his down moments, but that doesn’t mean he won’t get things figured out. We also should appreciate the fact that even though he’s had some down moments, he’s still performing better than most give him credit for.