QBs bring star qualities to title game

matters, and it doesn’t get much more fascinating than the matchup at quarterback.

Tagovailoa rose from obscurity to throw one of the most storied passes in football history. Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence has lived up to a reputation he’s been building since the eighth grade. They’re remarkably young, but when it comes to composure, that utter sense of calm that characterizes all of the great quarterbacks, they conduct a master class.

For those not familiar with Hawaii’s Samoan culture, it has been somewhat alarming to learn of Tagovailoa’s background. He was raised in a climate of strict, unrelenting discipline, occasionally resulting in beatings with a belt, by his father, if he had a subpar football performance or came up short in the classroom. Interviewed by ESPN, both father and son spoke without reservation about such tactics, saying they built character in a boy growing into manhood within a deeply religious culture that instills a fearless “warrior’s mentality” into promising athletes.

It’s not a heartwarming saga. Many viewers were appalled and dismissive — understandably so. But to watch the 20year-old quarterback so utterly at peace with himself, at such a crucial stage of his life, is to sense that he bears no psychological scars.

And when he takes the field, “You could put a billion people out there to watch us play,” he said recently, “and I’d still be in

Quarterback comparison

A look at 2018 offensive statistics for national championship game QBs Tua Tagovailoa (Alabama) and Trevor Lawrence (Clemson): Player Class G Cmp Att Yds TD INT Tagovailoa Lawrence Sophomore Freshman 14 14

the comfort zone.”

It took a special brand of confidence, from both Tagovailoa and his coach, to pull off last year’s national championship. Alabama trailed Georgia 13-0 at halftime and quarterback Jalen Hurts, the SEC Offensive Player of the Year in 2016, was being stifled at every turn. Tagovailoa hadn’t seen the field in seven weeks. He’d never entered a game in which the Tide were trailing. It seemed inconceivable that Saban would turn to a freshman backup over the talented, experienced Hurts.

In Tagovailoa, Saban saw that breezy, bring-it-on attitude that had impressed everyone in the program. The kid got Alabama into an overtime period, Georgia kicked a field goal, and Tagovailoa was sacked for a 16-yard loss on his first play. And then it happened: the perfectly thrown 41-yard touchdown pass to wideout DeVonta Smith, bringing a sudden and spectacular end to the game. The timing, the accuracy, the moment, the bedlam — it all amounted to an unforgettable climax.

As this season progressed, and Tagovailoa racked up Heisman Trophy-caliber numbers, people began calling him the greatest Alabama quarterback since Joe Namath (don’t forget Bart Starr or Ken Stabler in 223 239 321 366 3,671 2,933 41 27 4 4

that conversation). They projected him to join Stabler and Steve Young as the greatest left-handed quarterbacks in history. That’s a bit premature, but Tagovailoa’s range of talent is astounding, best exemplified by throws delivered perfectly to receivers in traffic, whether he’s on the run or shifting arm angles to fit the need.

There are lingering questions about an ankle injury that bothered Tagovailoa throughout the second half of the season and caused him to leave the SEC championship game against Georgia. (Hurts, who never let his backup status become an issue, led the Tide to a dramatic 35-28 win.) Tagovailoa had surgery the day after the game, and he said Saturday that it was “hurting” after Alabama’s semifinal victory over Oklahoma, and that he’s getting treatment “every day. It feels good right now. I’m just trying to maintain that feeling.”

Tagovailoa finished second to Oklahoma’s Kyler Murray in the Heisman voting, but he’ll be a strong favorite to win it next year. That is, if the Clemson quarterback doesn’t take it for himself.

“That kid looks like a surfer dude,” people scoffed when they first saw Lawrence, 19, with his helmet off. They couldn’t imagine him taking control of one of the country’s most high-powered teams, let alone replacing a quarterback, Kelly Bryant, who had gone 16-2 as Clemson’s starter.

It seems coach Dabo Swinney couldn’t shake the notion of the 6-foot-6 Lawrence, a freshman backup, getting thrown straight into the fire. The decision was made in late September, in the season’s fifth game, and Bryant got the message. Taking advantage of the new four-game redshirt rule, he announced in December that he’s transferring to Missouri, where he’ll have one season of eligibility remaining.

“I didn’t know how it was going to turn out,” Swinney said, “but after four games, it was obvious that Trevor was the better player. We didn’t know the fallout afterward, with Kelly deciding to transfer. But that was a defining moment for our team. Trevor has got a gift of an arm.”

Around the state of Georgia, football-mad folks have been aware of Lawrence since he was 14, already 6-foot-2 and throwing eye-catching passes in middle school. He became a sensation at Cartersville High School, where people follow the team with a “Friday Night Lights” brand of passion. As described by the Post and Courier (Charleston, S.C.), it’s “a community where Mayor Matt Santini is also the school’s play-by-play announcer, and the speed limit is often 25 mph.”

Glowing accounts spoke of people coming from all over the state — and other states — to watch the golden-armed kid. Two men drove all the way