Trevor Lawrence in concussion protocol but ‘doing great’

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney sounded optimistic about Trevor Lawrence’s health after the quarterback didn’t play in the second half of the team’s 27-23 win over Syracuse.

Lawrence took a knee to the helmet late in the first half and did not return to the game, with redshirt freshman Chase Brice leading the Tigers to a win in his absence. After the game, Swinney said Lawrence was in concussion protocol but seemed to be doing well.

“He’s really doing great,” Swinney said, via Matt Connolly of The State. “He actually wanted to come back in and play. He got banged up. He had kind of concussion like symptoms and you just don’t mess with that. He was trying to come back and play… but you trust your doctors and they shut him down.

“He’ll be in our (concussion) protocol, but he was really good after the game. He was celebrating with his teammates. Hopefully he’ll bounce back and be OK.”

Since it’s a potential head injury, there’s no real guarantee as to how Lawrence’s status will shake out this week. It sounds like, at least for now, he’s as good as can be expected, but this will bear watching ahead of Clemson’s trip to Wake Forest in a week.