Clemson star Trevor Lawrence tests positive for coronavirus

Trevor Lawrence, one of college football’s leading voices to play this season amid the ongoing pandemic, has tested positive for the coronavirus, the Clemson quarterback confirmed Thursday

Trevor Lawrence, one of college football’s leading voices to play this season amid the ongoing pandemic, has tested positive for the coronavirus, the Clemson quarterback confirmed Thursday night.

“I have tested positive for COVID-19, and my symptoms have been relatively mild while I’m following the protocol from Clemson and the ACC,” he said in a statement on social media. “The only thing that hurts is missing an opportunity to be with my teammates this weekend and play the game I love. I hate that I can’t be there, but I’ll be watching from isolation and pulling for our guys while I wait for the opportunity to rejoin the team. God bless and Go Tigers!”

Clemson, the nation’s top-ranked team, will be without its star quarterback for at least this weekend when it hosts Boston College as Lawrence is forced to isolate for 10 days per ACC regulations. Lawrence’s test that came back positive was taken Wednesday, according to ESPN. That would count as Day 1 of the 10-day cycle. So if healthy, Lawrence would be eligible for the 6-0 Tigers’ matchup with No. 4 Notre Dame on Nov. 7, just nine days away.

With Lawrence out, coach Dabo Swinney will likely turn to freshman backup D.J. Uiagalelei against Boston College. Uiagelelei has seen limited action in mop-up duty this year, completing 12 of 19 passes for 100 yards.

Clemson was a 31.5-point favorite in the game when Lawrence was going to be under center. The line dropped to 24.5 points after the news of his diagnosis.

“While we certainly will miss Trevor, this is an opportunity for other guys to step up and we’re excited about competing against a very good BC team on Saturday,” Swinney said in a statement.

Lawrence is expected to be the top pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, though recent comments he made have suggested he may consider returning to Clemson for a fourth season. The 0-7 Jets would hold the No. 1 pick in the draft if the season ended today.

In his third season, Lawrence ranks among national leaders in passing yards (1,833), touchdowns (17), completion percentage (70.7), and QB rating (178.6).

The 6-foot-6, 220-pound quarterback was one of the leading voices this summer pushing to save the college football season when conferences were considering pushing the games to spring because of the pandemic’s health risks. In early August, Lawrence said he was “100 percent” committing to playing.

“Everyone’s thought about it, but since I made the decision to play, I haven’t thought about it,” Lawrence said at the time. “I’m committed. It’s my last year here … and I’m super pumped.”

He took things a step further later in the month as part of the player-driven #WeWanToPlay and #WeAreUnited movements on social media. Lawrence and other players from the Power Five conferences tweeted a list of demands centering around wanting to play, the health protocols the needed to be put in place, student-athletes’ eligibility and the possibility of unionizing.