Clemson Names True Freshman Trevor Lawrence Its New Starting Quarterback

Trevor Lawrence and Kelly Bryant had been splitting time at quarterback during the first four games. Now the freshman is taking over.

On Monday, Clemson announced that true freshman Trevor Lawrence would take over as the starting quarterback for Saturday's game against Syracuse.

In the first four games of this season, senior Kelly Bryant was the starter, but Lawrence also saw time early and often during each contest. The 6'6", 208-pound true freshman out of Cartersville, Ga., was the No. 1 overall recruit in the class of 2018, according to the 247Sports Composite rankings.

The Tigers are 4–0 this season and have won three of those games by at least 28 points. In the lone close contest, a 28–26 win over Texas A&M, Bryant led Clemson on three of its four touchdown drives, and the other score came on a 64-yard completion from Lawrence.

Overall, Lawrence has been the better passer between himself and Bryant so far. Bryant has completed 36-of-54 passes for 461 yards, two touchdowns and a pick while Lawrence has gone 39-for-60 for 600 yards, nine touchdowns and two interceptions.

In last week's 49–21 win over Georgia Tech, Lawrence went 13-for-18 for 176 yards and four touchdowns while Bryant went 6-for-10 for 56 yards.

Syracuse was the site of Clemson's only regular-season loss last season. Bryant went 12-for-17 for 116 yards in that game, but missed the entire second half after suffering a concussion.

If Bryant does not take the field again this season, he could still be eligible for a redshirt season if he were to decide to transfer somewhere else to compete for a starting spot.