Cartersville High School quarterback Trevor Lawrence plays in a 2014 game at Northwest Whitfield. Lawrence, a rising junior, is a top quarterback prospect according to several recruiting services.

DALTON, Ga. — Northwest Whitfield and Southeast Whitfield high schools already know the terrors of facing Cartersville quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Now the rest of the area and teams from across the nation will get to experience it as well.

Every summer, The Daily Citizen’s Southeastern 7-on-7 Championship, which is Friday and Saturday at three fields around Dalton, draws some of the top talent from around the Southeast in teams and players. This season, that list is headlined by Lawrence, the No. 1 rated prospect in the class of 2018.

The rising junior led the Purple Hurricanes to its first state championship in 16 years in 2015 as he threw for 3,655 yards and 43 touchdowns with just four interceptions, according to maxpreps.com. That was the eighth-most yards in a single season in state history, according to ghsfha.org.

Over the five previous Southeastern 7-on-7 Championships, there have been dozens of athletes participating who have gone on to play Division I football. Last season, Spartanburg High School’s Tavien Feaster came to Dalton as the top rated running back in the nation and eventually signed with Clemson. But Lawrence may be the best of them all.

Cartersville Coach Joey King lauded his talents and knows that a 7-on-7 setting is easy pickings for Lawrence. But there’s still value in his signal caller getting the reps.

“He’s a very talented kid and is very comfortable in an 11-on-11 situation much less 7-on-7,” King said. “My biggest thing is I want him to think like I think. If I call a play and he thinks like I do then that’s good. It comes in handy to make sure he and I are on the same page.”

Cartersville shredded two local schools in 2015 with the Purple Hurricanes topping Northwest Whitfield 58-13 and Southeast Whitfield 49-3. Lawrence completed 17 of 25 passes for 353 yards and five touchdowns against the Bruins. The Purple Hurricanes didn’t need to throw the ball as much against the Raiders as Lawrence was 6 of 8 for 161 yards and four touchdowns.

“The biggest thing I saw (about Lawrence) as soon as I turned on film (last year) was the vast amount of growth,” Northwest Whitfield Coach Josh Robinson said. “He was already really good as a freshman, but the velocity on the ball was so much better. He can make all the throws, there’s a reason he’s rated where he is.

“What I think gets lost in all of it is his ability to evade the pass rusher from the pocket. Even against top rated guys going after him, he gets away from them and makes plays. I think that was the underlying factor in them being so successful last year.”

On the recruiting front, Lawrence had previously claimed a top four of Clemson, Florida, Georgia and Tennessee. But most recruiting analysts believed he favored Clemson and Georgia, and Lawrence confirmed that by naming those two schools as his top choices in a post on Twitter on Tuesday.  

Here’s a look at some of the other top prospects coming to the tournament this year. Unless otherwise noted, stats are from maxpreps.com and recruiting information is from 247sports.com:

n Trey Blount, wide receiver, Pace Academy: The 6-foot-2-inch wide out committed to Georgia May 1 after racking up 27 scholarship offers. He helped lead the Knights to the first state championship in school history last season after catching 36 passes for 642 yards and nine touchdowns.

Blount is rated as a four-star prospect and the No. 251 player regardless of position for the class of 2017. He is ranked the No. 33 wide receiver and the No. 30 player in the state of Georgia.

n Camron Johnson, wide receiver, Brentwood Academy (Tenn.): The rising junior is another talented wide receiver in the field this year. Johnson had 47 catches for 985 yards and eight touchdowns and also caught the game-winning two-point conversion in the 2015 state championship game. He is a four-star prospect rated as the No. 231 prospect nationally, the No. 38 receiver and No. 6 player in Tennessee in the class of 2018.

Johnson has six Division I offers from Auburn, Illinois, Louisville, Ole Miss, Tennessee and Vanderbilt.

n Zacoby McClain, linebacker, Valdosta: The 6-foot-2-inch linebacker is just a rising junior but already has offers from Cincinnati, Marshall and Nebraska. He contributed on the field as a sophomore and was named an All-Region 1-6A honorable mention.

McClain is rated as a four-star by rivals.com, but has yet to be given a national or position ranking.

n Luke Shiflett, quarterback, Northwest Whitfield: The rising junior has seen his stock rise on the recruiting trail in recent months as he picked up his first Division I offers from Georgia Southern and Troy. Shiflett threw for 1,567 yards and 19 touchdowns while tossing just one interception in 2015.

The three-star prospect is rated as the No. 316 prospect overall, the No. 13 quarterback and the No. 23 player in the state of Georgia for the class of 2018.

n Deon Jackson, running back, Pace Academy: Jackson was one of the most talented backs in the Peach State in 2015, carrying the ball 155 times for 1,138 yards and 10 touchdowns while splitting duties with two other talented backs. Jackson is rated as the No. 581 prospect overall, the No. 34 running back and the No. 56 player in the state of Georgia for the class of 2017.

Jackson claims 29 offers and Duke has long been thought to be the favorite in his recruitment. But recruiting analysts believe Georgia and Notre Dame could be on the cusp of offering, which could greatly alter his decision.

n Lummie Young, safety, Westside (Anderson, S.C.): Several prospects in this tournament are being recruited by Duke, including Young, who committed to the Blue Devils on May 27. The 6-foot-2-inch safety led the most prolific secondaries in the state of South Carolina last season, pulling in eight interceptions and returning one for a touchdown. He also had 65 tackles and forced two fumbles.

Young is rated as the No. 588 prospect overall, the No. 46 safety and the No. 9 player in the state of South Carolina. The senior claims nine other offers in addition to Duke.

n Lyndarious Strange, safety, North Florida Christian (Tallahassee, Fla.): The 6-foot-3-inch safety has received plenty of interest on the recruiting trail. He holds 27 offers, including from power conference schools such as Cincinnati, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa State, Illinois, Indiana, Miami, Oregon State and Syracuse.

Strange had 76 tackles, three interceptions and eight pass breakups in 2015. He is rated as a three-star recruit and the No. 914 prospect overall in the nation for the class of 2017.

n Tanner Morgan, quarterback, Ryle (Ken.): One of the most talented signal callers in the history of the Bluegrass State will be making the trip to Dalton this year. Morgan threw for 2,675 yards and 21 touchdowns in 2015 and ranks in the top 20 in state history for his career in both yards and touchdowns. The three-star senior prospect is rated as the No. 981 prospect overall, the No. 40 quarterback and the No. 5 player in Kentucky.

Morgan had a couple of offers from power conference programs in Louisville and Wake Forest, but committed to Western Michigan April 7. His coach, Michael Engler, believes if the 6-foot-1-inch quarterback was a couple inches taller, he’d have offers from any school he wanted.

n Jackson Williamson, quarterback, Westside (Anderson, S.C.): The son of former South Carolina quarterback Blake Williamson is another three-star quarterback in the field this year. Williamson threw for 2,585 yards and 26 touchdowns while completing 68 percent of his passes in 2015.

Williamson committed to the University of Miami (Ohio) on June 16 over offers from Georgia State, Troy and Western Carolina. He is rated as the No. 61 quarterback and the No. 20 prospect in South Carolina for the Class of 2017.

n Jeremiah Oatsvall, quarterback, Brentwood Academy (Tenn.): The Eagles’ quarterback may not be one of the highest rated recruits in the field this year, but he is certainly one of the most talented. With Division I offers for both football and basketball, Oatsvall is truly an athlete. He completed 126 of 210 passes for 1,965 yards and 16 touchdowns and ran for 1,164 yards and 14 touchdowns while leading Brentwood Academy to a state championship in 2015.

Oatsvall holds scholarship offers from Air Force, Army and Navy in addition to several FCS programs such as Furman, Mercer and UT-Chattanooga.