Trevor Lawrence film study: Clemson QB breaks records in home finale

Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence put on a show against Pitt in his home finale. We dissect every throw beyond the box score numbers.

The Clemson Tigers wrapped up their final home game of 2020 as they destroyed the Pittsburgh Panthers 52-17 in one of the least competitive games of the year. The Tigers were up 31-0 within 14 minutes thanks to three quick turnovers by the Panthers and efficient scoring drives by the Tigers’ offense. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence dazzled again, moving to 32-1 as a starter with the Tigers.

Lawrence has been the star of our weekly film series. His critical junior season could lead to legendary accolades based on his previous achievements and talent. The future No. 1 overall pick is extraordinarily talented, and we’re tracking his every throw.

His raw stats don’t matter as much as his process, which we’ll track by counting catchable passes and situational effectiveness. I’ve tracked over 70 individuals’ seasons since 2012, and Lawrence’s data already compares to some of the best prospects we’ve seen in that timeframe. We’ll dissect his 26-of-37 passing for 403 yards and two passing scores as we do weekly.

This was one of those games where the production snowballed quickly instead of being consistent. Lawrence was under duress constantly, having 12 of his 26 passes beyond the line of scrimmage coming under pressure, and another two throwaways. The Clemson offense also shifted to more screens as the game progressed to help protect Lawrence from hits.

Trevor Lawrence put on a show in his final home game with Clemson

Overall Lawrence recovered nicely from a rough performance against Syracuse last month. His decision-making was stronger and his command of the game was closer to his peak dominance. His accuracy was still less on-point than what we’d seen earlier in the year, and that led to some misses while under pressure.

His ability to stick intermediate throws wasn’t quite there this week, with five misses on only nine attempts. Lawrence has averaged about 70 percent accuracy on throws between 11-19 yards throughout his career, so this was certainly a substandard game as the Panthers continually created pressure and sticky coverage on out-breaking routes. The star quarterback still found ways to hit big plays though, and these chunk throws defined his performance.

The biggest weakness of Lawrence’s accuracy profile had been deep passing until 2020. When his deep passes weren’t spot on, they were too flat or overthrows. He’s corrected that to become a great deep passer. Five of his six attempts were catchable this week, including the dime below.

His touch and balance are intertwined, making his motion much more predictive of where the ball will land. His mechanics broke down a few times on his intermediate misses under pressure but not throwing deep. His process has been almost flawless this season to the point where we can expect him to give his receivers a good chance on almost every throw. and it’s shocking to see his front leg step too far forward or lean back under pressure.

That’s excellent development by Lawrence because it’s hard to actually improve what the body and mind naturally react like to adversity and pressure. He’s become a feathery passer to the sideline while ripping absolute darts down the middle of the field. This kind of velocity control had the Panthers unable to withstand the constant body blows.

Things could’ve escalated worse as well. Lawrence dealt with two drops on excellent passes, including one sideline catch where the receiver had one heel on the boundary line before the point of reception. Clemson’s system puts so much emphasis on their receivers finishing their one-on-one opportunities that it’s impressive to see Lawrence’s accuracy jump. Few quarterbacks would thrive with as many sideline throws as this offense has.

The other notable drop where I loved seeing Lawrence’s process at work was this one below. He scrambles up into the pocket to clear out some space to release the ball and draw in the underneath defender, and there’s a big hole for the tight end to continue running upfield. The receiver stops and drops the ball, but the way Lawrence moves up with intent and his eyes are looking around is exactly what he needs in the NFL.

He also lost two touchdowns to penalties, making it almost hilarious that he had 403 yards with several setbacks. The Tigers poured it on, but could’ve buried the Panthers by another 20 points had some of these plays gone the other way. His first touchdown was an excellent throw to the sideline of the endzone, and this is the type of throw that makes him an assassin in the red zone.

Lawrence certainly wasn’t flawless, as he took a bad sack where he fumbled the ball, and had an interceptable pass on a corner route where his receiver lazily ran the route and the defender undercut it. He’s done so well to avoid turnover-worthy plays so these plays aren’t part of his regular makeup, but worth notating as competition gets better.

This wasn’t a signature Lawrence performance in terms of his accuracy or playmaking, but he had monstrous downfield throws to compensate for rustiness and some of the miscues by his line and receivers. He’s locked in as the top pick for 2021 right now, and this did nothing to hurt that outlook.