Double take: UA student talks going viral on TikTok for looking like former Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. (WBRC) - Remember that teenage girl that once went viral on the internet after posting a TikTok for looking like former Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence? That once 16-year-old is now studying at the University of Alabama with hopes of working in sports media.

It was during her junior year of high school in her history class when Bella Martina’s life changed.

“I had this student sit next to me and I was kind of friends with him and his brother,” Martina said. “And a story of Trevor Lawrence came up on his Snapchat and he was like, ‘Oh my gosh, Bella kind of looks like this quarterback.’”

At first, Martina admitted that she was offended that someone seriously thought that she looked like Lawrence. But then her volleyball teammates told her that she should have fun with it and make a TikTok.

The video took the internet by storm with reactions and reposts from various well-known outlets that eventually led Martina to meeting Lawrence himself at the Clemson-Wake Forest game in 2019.

“If it makes people laugh, maybe it’s a good thing,” Martina said.

Martina went from going viral on the internet to posting her own sports on the worldwide web, covering Crimson Tide athletics. Through various internships and campus involvement, Martina dreams of one day reporting on the sidelines like NBC’s Maria Taylor or ESPN’s Molly McGrath.

But there is one big moment that Martina has in mind.

“My end goal would be to interview Trevor Lawrence in the NFL and kind of have a full 360 moment,” Martina laughed. “I can just imagine his face like, ‘Oh my gosh, this girl is back.’”

Martina also wanted to give a special shoutout to The Athletic’s Grace Raynor who covers college football and helped further inspire Martina to chase her dreams of becoming involved with sports. Raynor wrote a piece about Martina that can be read here.

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