Greatness comes one big moment at a time and 2018 quarterback Trevor Lawrence has already delivered a lot of those moments in his young career. The collection of those moments is enough to land the Cartersville (Ga.) High School native as the No. 1 prospect in the country in the initial release of Top100 for the class of 2018.

MORE: Introducing the Top 10 for 2018 | Breaking down the initial Top100 for 2018

The first moment came before Lawrence's high school career had even begun. Joey King had just taken the job as the head coach at Cartersville High School and he was taking his team through spring practice when an eighth grader caught his eye.

"We were throwing a cover 2 beater and as soon as the linebacker walled and released, Trevor hit the receiver in the ear hole with the ball," King said. "Eighth graders don't make that throw. I looked at my quarterback coach and his eyes got real big. Just to see him develop and grow from there has been truly impressive."

As eye-popping as that first impression might have been, King and his staff couldn't have envisioned what came next. Lawrence continued his progression into the summer and fall and allowed Cartersville to move their other quarterback, Miller Forristall, to full time tight end. Forristall went on to commit to Alabama as a tight end in the 2016 class and Lawrence went on to lead his team to a 12-2 record and an appearance in the state semifinals.

The Cartesville Combo: Trevor Lawrence to Miller Forristall. Just another day at the office. pic.twitter.com/HumcLttwco — Paul Maharry (@pmaharry) June 12, 2015



In addition to those 12 wins, Lawrence accumulated 3,042 yards passing with a 60 percent completion percentage and 26 touchdowns. He's big and lengthy at 6-foot-5. He's athletic. He has a big arm. He's got everything you could want out of a big-time passer.

"I've had all these college coaches ask me, 'tell me about your quarterback'," King said. "My response is that he's legit in whatever category you want to come up with. We clocked him at a 4.7 40. He's tall, strong. He cleans 230 pounds as a freshman. He's a solid student, he loves the game, he studies it and he's a humble kid."

Those college coaches have followed with offers. Tennessee is the early favorite and Georgia is not far behind but his offer list is 14 schools deep and growing.



While he checks all the boxes for the physical traits you want out of your quarterback, Lawrence has shown he's got what it takes in the intangibles department as well. He showed that off in the fourth quarter of the state quarterfinals and the following week in the semifinals.

During the quarterfinal game against Georgia power Sandy Creek High School, Lawrence threw for over 300 yards including two more of those special moments with clutch third down completions on the game winning drive.

The next week in the state semifinals, Lawrence was leading his team against Buford High School, a nationally renowned program.

"We were standing in front of the coaching staff talking before playing at Buford," King said. "One of the coaches said 'do you realize our quarterback was playing football behind these bleachers this time last year?'"

As a freshman Lawrence had led his team to a win away from the Georgia Dome and yet his most telling moment may have been yet to come. Dawgs247 analyst Rusty Mansell was in attendance at that Buford game and saw something revealing in a loss.

"There was an interception he threw in the semifinal game against Buford," Mansell said. "He turned around and chased him and got KO'd on a crack back block. It was a huge hit. He got himself up, got to the sideline and I was on the sideline and walked over just to see if he was ok. He was pushing the trainers off and he wanted to talk to his offensive line. He said 'guys lets go, that one was on me. Let's get it back'. He showed me that he's got some intangibles, he was a leader at an early age and he's got some serious toughness."

He'll need those intangibles to meet the expectations that come with being such a highly touted prospect at this early stage in his recruitment.

"That's great," Lawrence said of being named No. 1. "I'm really happy my hard work is paying off but we've still got this season coming up. This will be a big one. You can expect to see us in the (Georgia) Dome at the end of the season. I'm ready for [the expectations] and this team is ready for it. It's going to be something to watch this year."

The strong-armed passer doesn't sound like he thinks he's reached the mountain top and Coach King doesn't sound too worried about the headlines getting to his head either.

"That's one of the most impressive things about him is how level headed he is," King said. "He doesn't get rattled, doesn't let stuff go to his head. He comes to work every day. As talented as he is, he's still working in the offseason. He's not satisfied with where he is as a player and he wants to continue to work and grow with that."

Lawrence's talent is undeniable. On paper he's got everything you want. His coaches all say the things you want to hear. After one season, he has more moments of greatness to his credit than most seniors. But there's one last box the No. 1 player in the nation needs to check off: does he possess the presence to attract and lead the best players in the country?

"I talked to Trey Sermon who's one of the top running backs in the country in 2017," said Mansell. "And I asked if there's anyone in the country he wanted to play with on the next level. I wasn't expecting him to mention a guy behind him. He said Trevor Lawrence."