HERO Sports is counting down the days until the kickoff of the 2018 college football season on Saturday, Aug. 25, by featuring the best player in the FBS at each jersey number, from 99-1. Each day, from May 18 through Aug. 24, we'll publish one article showcasing the best player whose jersey number matches the number of days remaining.
No. 16 Trevor Lawrence
Clemson – QB
The only freshman to appear in the countdown, Trevor Lawrence edged out Missouri running back Damarea Crockett for the top No. 16 spot.
Lawrence was the top-ranked pro-style quarterback (and overall player) in the 2018 recruiting class and joined a small group of recruits who've earned a 247Sports Composite Rating of 0.9999. The 6-foot-5, 205-pounder from Cartersville, Ga., enrolled in January and, despite having zero college experience and joining a team with a quarterback who led them to the College Football Playoff, immediately entered Clemson's quarterback competition.
“You just see the talent,” Tigers' defensive end Clelin Ferrell said over the summer, two months after Lawrence showed off his college-ready skills in the spring game. “He is as advertised. He just has all the gifts. He’s a guy who just kind of knows that he has the ability to play at this level.”
Swinney didn't name Kelly Bryant the starter last year until two weeks before the season opener. And given this year's tight competition between Bryant and Lawrence, it'd be surprised if he named a starter any earlier this year.
“He’s a guy that thinks he can make every throw, and in high school, he was pretty much able to make all of those throws," Swinney said of Lawrence near the start of fall camp. "[Now] the windows are a little tighter, the guys are a little longer, they’re a little more athletic, they can get to the spots a little quicker. He’s figuring that out a little bit. I love where he is — size, strength, improvement, knowledge.”
Whether or not Trevor Lawrence starts in Week 1, Week 2 or at all this season, he's the best No. 16 in college football.
