When Clemson coach Dabo Swinney made the well-documented switch from Kelly Bryan to freshman Trevor Lawrence, it was all but certain Bryant would take his talents elsewhere for his 5th season.
Fast forward one year. Clemson remain the #1 team in America and are defending national champions. Bryant, meanwhile, has moved on to the SEC where he has Missouri sitting at 4-1 despite a crushing opening loss to Wyoming. When Clemson made the switch to Lawrence, there were few that criticized the move. Lawrence led the team to a second national championship in three years and was everyone’s Heisman favorite heading in to 2019.
While Clemson is still undefeated, and on a collision course towards the College Football Playoff, Mizzou’s Kelly Bryant has been extremely important for Barry Odom’s transition from the Drew Lock era and his Tigers are on the verge of being ranked should they take care of business against Ole Miss on Saturday.
Kelly Bryant vs. Trevor Lawrence by the numbers
Surprisingly, Kelly Bryant leads Trevor Lawrence in all major passing categories. While Clemson has continued to win, it’s been more of a business-like approach and it’s unlikely that Lawrence will come close to matching his numbers from a year ago (3,280 yards, 30 TDs). Meanwhile, Kelly bryant is on pace for a career year as he will certainly best his 2,800 yard 13 TD junior season ( a year in which he lead Clemson to the College Football Playoff).
