Swinney lets the New York media know about Trevor Lawrence

Swinney pats Lawrence on the helmet after a touchdown Saturday. (Photo courtesy ACC)

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed Oct 14 08:01:02 GMT-04:00 2020

It’s not often that a member of the New York media decides to attend a Dabo Swinney weekly press conference, so when one of them showed up for Tuesday’s Zoom call, you knew it had to be about Trevor Lawrence.

Tank For Trevor is a commonplace phrase across the league these days as teams jockey to get in position to have the top pick in next spring’s NFL Draft. The team that gets that top pick likely gets Lawrence. Two New York teams – the Giants and the Jets – have identical 0-5 records heading into this week. The Atlanta Falcons are the NFL’s other winless team and would love the chance to take a franchise quarterback who grew up in the Atlanta area.

Swinney was asked about New York and Lawrence and said his quarterback has everything an NFL team would look for.

"Well, I don't have any thoughts about the New York stuff but as far as Trevor as a quarterback prospect, I don't know what you could want that he doesn't possess," Swinney said. "So that's the best way I can answer that. I mean, there's nothing — there's nothing that you could desire to have in a quarterback that's not there. You want size? You got it. You want a guy that could run? You got it. You want a guy that has great football IQ? You got it.

"You want a guy that's a great leader? You got it. You want a guy that loves to work, loves to prepare, same guy every day? You got it. You want a boy that's humble? You got it. You want a guy that makes everybody else better, doesn't ask anything more from anybody that he's willing to give? You got it.

"You want a guy that's accurate? You got it. You want a guy that's got great pocket presence? You got it. You want a guy that's got toughness and ain't afraid to go get a first down? You got it. You want a guy that's going to give you every ounce of what he's got? You got it. So I don't know what you could want in a quarterback that he doesn't possess. That's the best way I can answer it."

Lawrence has started out strong in his junior season. He has not thrown an interception in 355 passes dating back to last year, completing 29 of 41 (70.7 percent) for 292 yards and three touchdowns in this past Saturday's 42-17 win over then-No. 7 Miami.

Swinney said he never has to worry about Lawrence.

"You never have to worry about him," Swinney said after the win over the Hurricanes. "He's just always going to put the work in. He's always going to be prepared. He's always going to lay it on the line. He's always going to give it everything he's got. He's going to play with attention to details. He's going to challenge everybody. And he's going to attack. And you just can't ask for anything more from any player or certainly a quarterback than what we get from Trevor every day, every single day."