Trevor Lawrence drew an uncharacteristic penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct during Saturday’s win over Miami, and the star quarterback expressed regret after the game. If he does it again, Clemson coach Dabo Swinney may make him regret it even more.
Lawrence took a couple of hard hits in Clemson’s 42-17 win, one of which resulted in an ejection for a Miami player who led with his helmet. Later in that same drive, Lawrence rushed for a 3-yard touchdown and spiked the ball, drawing an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty. The stunt earned him a public reaming from Swinney.
“That was a dumb play on my part,” Lawrence said, via Todd Shanesy of The Greenville News. “That’s not what we’re coached to do. It’s not who we are. I shouldn’t have done that, but I was pumped. I was fired up. I let my emotions get a little too high.”
Swinney told reporters after the game that Lawrence will be free to celebrate however he wants when he’s playing for an NFL team next season. But for now, the Heisman Trophy candidate will have to play under Swinney’s rules. If he doesn’t, Swinney says he has a great punishment lined up for Lawrence.
“Next time, I’m going to put him on kickoff coverage,” Swinney joked.
NFL teams probably would not be too thrilled with Swinney if he did that, but they don’t need to worry.
The hit on Lawrence was pretty brutal (video here), so you can understand why he was pumped to stick it to the Hurricanes after that. That doesn’t mean it will happen again, especially if Lawrence isn’t interested in kick coverage.
