Published Aug 27, 2017
Week One: Lawrence vs. Fields
circle avatar
Chad Simmons  •  Rivals.com
Recruiting Analyst
Twitter
@ChadSimmons_

Hardly ever do you have the top two football prospects in the country from the same state. That is very rare, but to have the top two prospects from the same state that play the same position may not have ever happened before.

This has happened with prospects in 2018 class, and quarterbacks Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields live in Georgia and sit at the top of Rivals.com rankings.

Each played in week one and here's a look at how the first round went.

Lawrence and Cartersville (Ga.) hosted St. Johns (Fla.) Bartram Trail Saturday night and after a weather delay that lasted close to two hours, Lawrence came out hot.

And he stayed hot.

Cartersville took the ball on their first drive and marched down the field to score on a 10-yard pass by Lawrence. That was the first of five touchdown passes by the No. 1 prospect in America.

Lawrence was on the big stage, playing in front of a national audience, and he did not disappoint. He finished 18-23 for 404 yards passing and five touchdowns. He also had 44 yards rushing on eight carried.

The biggest takeaway from this performance was Lawrence's arm and eyes. He threw many great passes, but there were one or two where he saw things down the field and made what were called 'Sunday' throws on social media as the plays happened. When the stage was the biggest, and the many eyes were on him, he played at a level most players dream of.

In recruiting, Lawrence has been a strong Clemson commit since December 2016. He is on track to be at Clemson in January 2018.

On Friday night, Kennesaw (Ga.) Harrison traveled up to Rome (Ga.), a defending state champion. Things did it start off well for Fields. On the first possession, he was sacked and the ball flew up in the air, only to be caught by LSU commit Ja'Quon Griffin and returned for a touchdown.

Fields responded though. He was pressured all night, but he still threw darts, ran over defenders and hurdles would-be tacklers. He faced one of the top defensive lines in Georgia, but still impressed. He finished 21-30 passing for 238 yards and two touchdowns. He threw an interception late in the game. Fields added 66 yards on the ground including a 12 yard score.

The biggest takeaway was how much Fields has improved as a passer over the past year. Yes, he is a dual-threat quarterback who can run and make big plays with his legs, but his right arm is why he is now the No. 2-ranked prospect in the country. He is much more comfortable in the pocket, he keeps his eyes down the field and he can make any throw. He has to be one of the most improved players in the country over the last 18 months.

In recruiting, Florida State and Georgia are considered the favorites with Auburn still hanging around. He plans to be at the Alabama-Florida State game Saturday.