Dabo Swinney compares Trevor Lawrence to Kobe Bryant, Brett Favre

After a bad half versus the Louisville Cardinals, Clemson Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney sees his quarterback Trevor Lawrence as Kobe Bryant or Brett Favre.

While he went out and totally redeemed himself in the second half of Saturday’s blowout victory on the road over the division rival Louisville Cardinals, it was not smooth sailing for Clemson Tigers starting quarterback Trevor Lawrence. He threw two more picks in the first half, extending his ACC-leading picks to eight on the year.

Of course, his head coach Dabo Swinney had something to say about his signal-caller’s up-and-down nature in the Clemson offense. While Swinney said that Lawrence made four bad plays on Saturday, and two that were truly awful, he did have lofty comparisons for the best player on his team. Swinney sees a little bit of Kobe Bryant and Brett Favre in his sophomore quarterback.

Back in 2016, Swinney’s comments on his then-star quarterback Deshaun Watson went viral. Swinney said that if an NFL team passed on, that team would be passing on Michael Jordan. The Chicago Bears could have had their football Michael Jordan, but instead traded up for Mitchell Trubisky and Watson went No. 12 to the Houston Texans in the same 2017 NFL Draft.

But enough about Watson, what exactly did Swinney say about Lawrence regarding Bryant and Favre. “I heard Kobe Bryant say one time, ‘If I go 0-for-30, why go 0-for-12? I’m making the next one,'” said Swinney. “That’s the mindset. Trevor had that. Deshaun had that. Deshaun was the same way. He was always going to go make the next play. That’s how Trevor is.”

So while Watson might be like Mike, does that mean Lawrence has the Mamba Mentality? Of course, all four men are champions at the end of the day, so Lawrence getting compared to Los Angeles Lakers superstar shooting guard Bryant, and not his former teammate Kelly Bryant, is only a good thing. Lawrence has achieved elite Bryant status.

As for if Lawrence has a little Mississippi gunslinger in him, here is what Swinney said about his quarterback in regard to Favre. “Brett Favre’s one of my all-time favorite players,” said Swinney about Lawrence’s love for throwing picks of late. “He knows he ain’t supposed to do that. He’s played a million years. But he was Brett Favre his whole career because he was mentally tough.”

Favre was a legend with the Green Bay Packers. His toughness and willingness to compete made him a Pro Football Hall of Famer and one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history. As with Favre, Lawrence stands a great chance to be an NFL team’s franchise quarterback in the coming years. He will be draft-eligible after his true junior season in 2020. Lawrence may go No. 1 overall.

Typically, when a coach throws around such lofty comparisons, they come across as far-reaching and a tad hyperbolic. However, Swinney looks to have been right when comparing Watson to Jordan. If Lawrence is the next Bryant or Favre, then that’ll be a great thing for Swinney, Clemson football and whatever NFL team drafts Lawrence No. 1 overall in 2021.

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