Former Alabama legend Shaun Alexander delivered a message for Clemson's Trevor Lawrence ahead of Monday's College Football Playoff championship game.
"Carry the coin. Finish the game."
That's the mantra for the Football Writers Association of America's Freshman of the Year award, named after the former Tide running back and which was given to the Tigers freshman quarterback.
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Lawrence was a member of the FWAA Freshman All-American team after leading Clemson to the ACC championship and a victory against Notre Dame in the Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic.
"We all know this kid is going to give his team a chance to win," Alexander said during his presentation of the award. "He's something special and he's somebody you want on your team to win. Trevor fits that."
Alexander, who finished his Crimson Tide career with 4,363 yards and 49 total touchdowns, then offered one small qualifier.
"Maybe not as much tonight," he joked.
The award is given based on four characteristics, Alexander said: That is a player who is talented, is a high-character student-athlete, an ambassador to the university and a future legend in the sport for a long time.
Lawrence is off to a good start. The former top-ranked recruit passed for 2,933 yards and 27 touchdowns to four interceptions for Clemson this season, a performance that put him at the top of a loaded freshman class. Lawrence has the opportunity to be the first starting freshman quarterback to win a national championship since Oklahoma’s Jamelle Holieway in 1985.
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Alexander's 291-yard, four-touchdown performance against LSU as a redshirt-freshman in 1996 was an inspiration for the award. He plans on continuing that work with the FWAA.
"This is the seed we're giving to these kids," Alexander said. "We're giving them a platform to do something more to be an ambassador to college football and beyond. We see Trevor doing that for a long time."
