Trevor Lawrence named highest-rated QB recruit in college football history

When you think of the history of Clemson football, few names stand out as much as Trevor Lawrence.

Lawrence became a freshman sensation in 2018, taking over as the team’s full-time starting quarterback when he threw four touchdown passes in a 49-21 rout of Georgia Tech in Week 4.

Lawrence went on to lead the Tigers to their second national championship in three years that season, culminating in a 44-16 rout of Alabama in the College Football Playoff. He followed that up with a 14-0 start in 2019 before the Tigers suffered their first loss in over two years to a loaded LSU team in the national championship game.

With all the talk this summer centered on Lawrence receiving a massive longterm contract extension from the Jacksonville Jaguars after completing his third NFL season, it might be forgotten just how highly touted a recruit the five-star prospect was coming out of Cartersville, Ga., in the class of 2018.

To that end, 247Sports’ Grant Hughes took a look back at some of the top recruits from days gone by and named his Top 20 highest-rated quarterback prospects in the history of college football . Right at the top was Lawrence, who edged out Justin Fields for the No. 1 spot.

As Hughes noted:

“Lawrence is one of the best quarterback prospects to ever pass through the high school ranks. He was both the top player overall and top signal-caller in the class of 2018, and his impact was felt immediately at Clemson. He started as a freshman for the Tigers and led them to a win in the College Football Playoff National Championship Game. In three years, he passed for more than 10,000 yards with 108 total touchdowns, 90 of which came through the air, while earning two first-team All-ACC selections and one first-team All-America honor.”

247Sports gave Lawrence a composite ranking of 1.0032, the same score as Fields. Former Alabama QB and Heisman Trophy winner Bryce Young was right behind Lawrence and Fields at No. 3 in 247Sports’ rankings. With Lawrence behind center, the Tigers went a perfect 28-0 in games he started during regular-season play.

In addition to leading the Tigers past Alabama for the national championship, Lawrence led Clemson on a game-winning drive against Ohio State in the 2019 Fiesta Bowl — one of the greatest games of the four-team College Football Playoff era.

Lawrence closed his career with a 34-2 record as a starter, the winningest quarterback in school history. He had 90 touchdown passes to 17 interceptions in 40 games played (36 starts). Lawrence rushed for another 943 yards and 18 touchdowns on the ground.

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