SCOTTSDALE, Arizona – Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields and Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence grew up just a half-hour drive away from each other and have had their names connected for years through their respective recruitments, but they’ve never played a football game against each other.
That will change on Saturday.
Lawrence, a native of Cartersville, Georgia, and the No. 1 overall prospect in the recruiting class of 2018, will face off against Fields, a native of Kennesaw, Georgia, and the No. 2 overall prospect in the recruiting class of 2018, when the Tigers and Buckeyes go head-to-head in the College Football Playoff semifinals at the Fiesta Bowl on Saturday.
No one, including themselves, is surprised to see either of them in this position.
“We know how talented we both are, so I don’t think it’s surprising for us,” Fields said this week.
Although Saturday will be the first time they play against each other in a game, they have known each other since they were in high school, growing up as not only the two best high school quarterbacks in the state of Georgia, but the two best high school quarterbacks in the entire country. Both of them trained with Ron Veal, a former Arizona quarterback who is now a Georgia-based personal quarterbacks coach, which meant Fields and Lawrence occasionally worked out together.
They aren’t close friends, but they do text each other from time to time, and they share a mutual respect for each other as both players and people.
“I want the best for him and definitely enjoyed watching his growth and what he’s done this year,” Lawrence said of Fields.
Arguably the two most talented quarterbacks in all of college football right now, Fields and Lawrence are perhaps the biggest reasons why their teams are 13-0 this season. Both of them have prototypical skill sets for future NFL quarterbacks with excellent combinations of arm strength, passing accuracy, size and athleticism. Fields is more known for his running ability than Lawrence, but their rushing stats this season have been comparable, with Fields rushing for 471 yards and 10 touchdowns on 123 carries and Lawrence running for 407 yards and seven touchdowns on 77 rushes.
“People don’t give him enough credit about his running game,” Fields said of Lawrence. “Of course he has a strong arm, great accuracy, but I think what people sleep on with Trevor is his legs. I think he’s kind of a sneaky fast guy.”
Both quarterbacks also demonstrate similar demeanors. Each of them project humble, espouse team-first attitudes, and neither have loud or boisterous personalities.
“He’s not really a loud, vocal guy, and neither am I,” Fields said. “So I think kind of our personalities are the same in terms of leadership, in terms of just kind of going about our business. I think we’re about all business on the field.”
Lawrence already won a national championship as Clemson’s starting quarterback last season. Fields was a finalist at the Heisman Trophy ceremony earlier this month – an honor everyone expected of Lawrence before the season – and now has a chance to follow in Lawrence’s footsteps and lead Ohio State to a national title in his first year as a starting quarterback and first year with the Buckeyes after transferring from Georgia.
How quickly they’ve achieved success is notable, but again not particularly surprising to either of them or anyone else, because of how highly touted they were as recruits entering their collegiate careers.
“To me, it doesn’t matter how old you are,” Lawrence said. “If you work hard and prepare and do things the right way and you have the talent, it’ll take care of itself. And you see, that’s been the case with him. It doesn’t really matter how old you are. If you can play, you can play, and that’s how he’s been.”
“We know how talented we both are, so I don’t think it’s surprising for us.”– Justin Fields on his and Trevor Lawrence's success
Lawrence was expected to be a star at Clemson, the quarterback who could build upon the run of excellence that Deshaun Watson started, and that’s what he has been. Fields was expected to be the future at Georgia; that didn’t happen, but he immediately performed up to the high expectations at Ohio State.
So far, it’s no stretch at all to say that Lawrence and Fields have lived up to their billing as the two best players in their recruiting class, and Clemson quarterbacks coach Brandon Streeter – who also recruited Fields until Lawrence committed to the Tigers – was among those who could see that coming.
“We didn’t get real deep in the recruiting process, because Trevor Lawrence obviously was the same year and he ended up committing to us right after his junior year,” Streeter said. “But his explosiveness as a runner/athlete, very, very impressive … and then obviously being able to throw the ball too, he just had that really elite combination of both throwing and running.”
As the two quarterbacks now prepare to face off against each other for the first time – a game that will only further the comparisons between them that will likely continue for years to come as their collegiate and eventual NFL careers continue – Streeter’s knowledge of Fields, along with the recognition that Brent Venables and Clemson’s other defensive coaches and players have of how good he is, will ensure that the Tigers aren’t taking their next challenge lightly.
The same will be true for Ohio State, whose coaches and players have expressed nothing but a great deal of respect for Lawrence.
“Unbelievable player,” Ohio State linebacker Tuf Borland said of Lawrence. “You can't say enough good things about him. You guys see him sitting back there and making throws all over the field. He's also able to extend the play, when he gets out of the pocket and finds some open guys. So he's an unbelievable player.”
