Trevor Lawrence scores easily against Ohio State on zone-read keeper

Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence is the consensus choice as the best player in the 2021 draft class regardless of position, and the fact that he’s a quarterback spices things up a bit. The Jaguars have the first overall pick locked up, and one can imagine the only thing stopping Jacksonville from taking Lawrence is that the draft hasn’t happened yet.

When the Jaguars do get Lawrence under contract, they need to do two things: Give him a more advanced offensive head coach than Doug Marrone and a more advanced offensive coordinator than Jay Gruden, and replace those guys with coaches who understand how to utilize quarterbacks in the modern run game. Because as advanced as Lawrence is as a passer — he completed 69.2% of his passes for 9.6 yards per attempt, 22 touchdowns and four interceptions — he’s also a dominant running threat in the right system, which the Tigers clearly have.

Early in the Allstate Sugar Bowl, the Ohio State Buckeyes found this out the hard way. Lawrence had driven his team downfield as a passer, but with 12:10 left in the first quarter, he ran for a two-yard touchdown off an option look, simply outrunning Ohio State’s defense to the edge.

Per Sports Info Solutions, Lawrence has 185 yards and seven touchdowns on 27 designed quarterback runs this season, and 13 yards on two zone keeper rushing attempts. When people refer to Lawrence as a “generational talent,” it’s the combination of passing and designed running that makes it so. Hopefully, he’ll have the right NFL coaches to maximize his amazing abilities.