Highly touted QBs Burrow, Lawrence to take center stage in national title game

NEW ORLEANS (WIS) - If you’re going to win a national championship, you better have a top-shelf quarterback.

Clemson won two of the past three titles with first Deshaun Watson and then Trevor Lawrence leading the way. On Monday night, Lawrence will share the quarterback spotlight with LSU’s Joe Burrow, who also happens to be the Heisman Trophy winner.

Lawrence is easy to spot. He’s the guy with the golden hair and the golden arm. He may look like a California surfer dude, but looks can be deceiving.

“The media portrays him as, like, Hollywood, the Hollywood type, but I knew he was a dawg,” said Clemson tight end Braden Galloway.

Lawrence showed the nation he is tough as a junkyard dawg in the Fiesta Bowl He took a shot to the head, has to leave the game, but returns to lead Clemson to a 29-23 win over the Buckeyes. Lawrence surprised OSU by rushing for a career-high 107 yards.

“I’ve always known I could run a little bit, but I think that’s just something I’ve improved at since last year was just being able to impact the game a little bit more that way.”

“I knew when he got hit, yeah, he was stumbling a little bit. It hurt him,” Galloway said. “But I know what he’s made of and I know he’s built for moments like that.

“It shows you the type of championship quarterback he is, that he started extending plays with his feet,” added LSU head coach Ed Orgeron. “I thought he took the Ohio State game in his own hands to win that football game and you can see his determination, his grit, and his courage just like you see in our quarterback.

Burrow like Lawrence, also displays toughness by using his legs to make big plays. They both have a whatever-it-takes-to-win attitude.

“You know, as a quarterback, whether you like it or not, you’re going to be the leader of the team,” Burrow said. “And if your team isn’t tough, you’re not going to win a lot of games. So, as a quarterback, you’ve got to exude that toughness.”

What makes Lawrence and Burrow two of the headliners for tonight’s game is their ability to throw the football. Lawrence has passed for over 3,400 and 36 touchdowns this season. His 66 career TD’s are the most through a sophomore season in ACC history.

Burrow has tossed an SEC record 55 touchdown passes this season and accumulated more than 5,200 through the air. Both defenses will have their hands full trying to stop these record-setting marksmen.