HEAD COACH URBAN MEYER
APRIL 29, 2021
(Opening Statement) “With the offense of Jacksonville last year, just the lack of big play. I’ve just always had a very strong belief in speed and we’ve tried to address that with free agency with Phillip Dorsett and Marvin Jones. We have a good, young group of receivers that can run well, and we have two good backs. This is a multi-dimensional back that we’ve kind of, from day one, I know Coach [Darrell] Bevell and [Coach] Schotty [Brian Schottenheimer] and I all feel that the idea of offense is to create match-up nightmares. And I’ve had some good fortune over the years to have a guy that can do both, flex out. He’s as good outside as a receiver as he is as a running back. So, [he’s a] high-end character guy that has elite speed, that—really, really excited. It got a little tense there near the end, so I’ll take some questions.”
(On how much of watching QB Trevor Lawrence allowed him to see more of RB Travis Etienne) “That’s a good point, Andy. I think just watching. You know, the first thing we do when we got hired in January, is just watch quarterbacks over and over again. And I know Travis, just from my time at Ohio State and even the last two years, the fact that the Buckeyes have played them—hours upon hours upon hours. And the way we’ve always looked at offensive football is that, just over the years, any time you can find that dual threat guy that can carry the ball and catch the ball, obviously the name that comes up is Percy [Harvin] so often. I’m not saying he’s a Percy, we’ll find out. But he’s a guy that’s a piece of the puzzle that is kind of hard to cover, hard to defend.”
(On whether it helps to draft a guy [Travis Etienne] that QB Trevor Lawrence is familiar with as a teammate) “Yeah, we had the conversation. And I’d say, once a week for the last three weeks, ‘How do you get a guy successful?’ Have a very strong run game. Okay, we took [Chris] Manhertz to help extend the offensive line, which is basically what he is. He’s one of the best blocking tight ends in the National Football League. That’s one way to help a young quarterback. How about you add Carlos Hyde to an already 1,000-yard rusher, James [Robinson]? And so, you have fresh legs pounding on people. And then, you try to create a little more depth at wide receiver, we did that, attacked that in free agency. And then, we had a chance to go with this—Travis. The issue is going to be, ‘Oh, offensive line has got to play better,’ that’s the next. But we’ve also sunk a tag on Cam Robinson, and he’s got to play really well. Our offensive line has got to play really well. We’re confident that we have good players here.”
(On how he envisions RB James Robinson and RB Travis Etienne complementing each other) “Well, we’ve got Carlos [Hyde], too. And so, I see Carlos and James the 1-2, downhill, powerful running backs. And I see Travis—there’s times where we could be in two-backs and Travis is a guy that goes out. Or we’re still playing with it, but he’s certainly a third-down back and he’s a guy that’s a match-up issue for the defense.”
(On conversations with RB James Robinson and RB Carlos Hyde about possibly adding a guy like Travis) “No, they’re different backs. I’ve not had that conversation with either yet. They’re off tomorrow and I might give them a call, it’s a good thought. But I didn’t know how this was going to break. And it’s the confidentiality—that you start talking too much, which I found out, it’s best to zip your lip and let it get through the draft. And so, at some point I’ll talk to them. Those two are doing great though. I’m very—our goal is to be at the top fourth of every position and I think we solidified that with James, Carlos and Travis. So, we’re good at running back.”
(On whether the goal was to draft Travis Etienne today rather than waiting a little bit) That’s a good question, this is all, the board—really, it was an education for me. Because, just think about this, for 30 years, you’ve stacked your players vertically. That means the best running back to the 15th best running back, and you start recruiting them. And as this guy is out, this guy is out and you just keep going. Now, you do it horizontally and that’s the whole value place. Okay you’re looking at a guy like Travis [Etienne] then maybe a safety, maybe a corner. And then we just, as a staff decided— or Trent and I made a decision, ‘Let’s go with this one.’”
(On whether he had any conversations with QB Trevor Lawrence about RB Travis Etienne or vice versa) “We have a good relationship, but we used up all of the Zoom calls with those guys. The Zoom bill is awfully high around here. We went with more with Trevor asking him about Travis.”
(On when he really knew QB Trevor Lawrence was the guy) “Probably at the end of the month in January, I mean, early February. We spent a good, probably a month—we kind of had ideas, but it got—there were some good Zoom calls with those other two quarterbacks. Very good players, I’m glad to see. High, high-end character guys, very good leaders, tough competitors, but we feel good about our quarterback.”
(On how the two first-round picks having played a lot of college football affected their decisions) “Yeah, they’re winners. I have a great relationship with their coach, so I know about as much as you possibly can about Travis and Trevor. And the fact [that] they’re winners, elite competitors and I still think there’s a lot of wear-and-tear left on them. Obviously, Trevor only played the three years, but then Travis has played a lot of football, but he’s still got a lot left. [He’s] a fast guy, real great speed.”
(On his first draft day as an NFL head coach) “Well, it broke at the end. I mean, that’s the first time and I’m sitting there, and I mean, it’s like fourth-and-1. Watching to see who the Steelers were going to take, and they took a great player, but a guy that we kind of had penciled in. We had him.”
(On if QB Trevor Lawrence’s experience and ability to handle the pressure impacted him being the No. 1 overall pick) “It played a significant role, you know. I mean, and we’re going to be cautious. I’ve talked to Shad [Khan] and Jim agrees. The most important thing for Trevor is to learn the offense, it’s not to sell billboards around the state of Florida. And we’re going to be very cautious about that. The good thing is that’s very important to him. He’s not a guy, as you can see, he’s not even at the draft. His focus is he wants to live here, he wants to move here, he wants to train here, he wants to win. Obviously, that’s very appealing to our staff.”
(On his biggest priority going into tomorrow) “I’ve been warned [lips sealed]. So, I can take the—you guys have heard me do it before. I’m really happy that we took Travis and change the subject on you. We do have some needs to fill, but that’s in-house for right now.”
| JAGUARS GENERAL MANAGER TRENT BAALKE April 29, 2021 (On today’s picks) “We have quarterback that we think has a high, high ceiling, two very high character guys that fit into the culture here. We’re real excited, real excited.” (On RB Travis Etienne) “Well, I think if you go back to his college film, I think you see he’s an explosive player, can multi-align, can detach, can come out of the backfield. So, he offers a tremendous amount of versality in the pass game, as well as that explosive play-making ability that you covet.” (On if being former teammates at Clemson will be an advantage for QB Trevor Lawrence and RB Travis Etienne) “I don’t know. To my knowledge, this is the first time it’s ever happened, in the first round at least, in modern era drafting. It’s never happened in any draft that I’ve been in. I guess I can’t recollect it happening. Does it help? Certainly. There’s a lot of familiarity with each other, both in the pass game and the run game, so I think it does help.” (On drafting a running back before other positions and Etienne’s big play ability) “It’s hard to have 14, 15, 16 play drives in the National Football League. You have to be able to flip the field. You have to be able to score from every level of the field and the only way you can do that is to add explosive players, and we feel Travis [Etienne] is one of those.” (On players mock drafted to the Jaguars still being available after the first round) “I’ll be very honest with you, I do not look at mock drafts, so I don’t know who you may be referring to. I do that because it does us no good, where guys are projected to go by people that haven’t done a lot of film research, talk to people. We just follow the board. We build the board off value, put the best players high on the board and cascade it down from there and then let the board speak. We felt very good about what we got at one and what we got at 25.” (On who’s still available to be drafted) “We’re in a very good situation obviously. We’ve got three or four guys left that we had valued at that level and feel like we’re going to do what Coach [Urban Meyer] and I always talk about. We’re going to let it breathe, come back tomorrow. We’ve got a long day to sit down and talk things through, but [I] feel very good about where we’re sitting right now going into tomorrow.” (On if they got the player they wanted at number 25) “Travis [Etienne] is someone we had penciled in at 25 and we’re hoping he would get to us. We had several others as well, but you always have a plan A, plan B, plan C, 1,2,3, however you want to rate it. We feel very good about how we ended up today.” (On his response to those who question taking a running back in the first round) “I don’t know who questions it I guess, if there’s other GM’s that feel the same way, take a back, don’t take a back. Our job is to take the best football players available and when you have a chance to add an explosive, dynamic player to your team, I don’t think that’s a roll of the dice. I think that’s an educated decision that we were willing to make.” (On the communication with QB Trevor Lawrence leading up to the draft) “You’re very fortunate when you know which direction you’re going and you’re sitting at one, what you’re allowed to discuss with him over the phone. This season, you’re only allowed five Zoom calls with him. We used those very strategically and we’ve done a lot of phone conversations as well. We feel very good about where he’s at within the learning process already and now we can expedite it.” (On the possibility of Tim Tebow joining the team) “He did come in for a workout several weeks ago or whatever that was. He worked out as a tight end and that’s the position he’ll be playing. Right now, where it stands, we’re going to get through the draft and our whole focus, quite honestly, has been on the draft. We’ll worry about that when the draft is over.” (On trade offers for the 25th pick) “We fielded some interest. I can’t remember exactly how far back we would’ve had to go, but we would’ve possibly considered it if our player wasn’t on the board, but he was, and we felt very strongly about him. We made the pick and now we get ready for tomorrow.” (On the potential for trading the 33rd pick) “I think you can always expect some calls for 33 because every organization now gets to sit back for a night and look at their board and look at the value they place on different players. There’s always a player left from day one that you want to go get on day two, so I would expect some calls. How willing we will be to move back? That remains to be seen. We feel very good about the position we’re in and very good about a few of the players that are still left on the board at that level. So, we’re going to sleep on it, we’ll let it breathe, and we’ll come back tomorrow, get refocused and go to work.” |
JAGUARS RB TRAVIS ETIENNE
April 29, 2021
(On what sets him apart and makes him worthy of this pick) “Just my ability to make plays on the field. I feel I was successful and very consistent throughout my years here at Clemson. I feel my work speaks for itself, and my ceiling I feel like haven’t reached where I’m able to get in my career, so I feel like I’m only getting better at this point. I feel like it was the best pick they could’ve made, honestly.”
(On if he had an idea he might get to reunite with Trevor Lawrence and what that means) “I did have it in the back of my mind that I might have a chance to reunite with Trevor and just for it to come full circle, I’m just very happy, very excited, blessed, ready to get to work with Trevor. I feel like being his teammate for three years we’ve built that camaraderie. I don’t have to work on getting to know somebody else; I know Trevor inside and out, so that’s going to be a very great feeling just to know that he’s a hard worker. I’m a hard worker and we’re going out there for the same common goal. There’s going to be great things to happen on that field.”
(On how Coach Meyer has talked about using him in the offense) “Me and Coach Meyer talked about getting in the weight room and work from there. Basically, in the NFL, just being ready, being available, not being hurt so we’ve got to get in the weight room, bulk up and then we’ll be ready for him to use me any way he chooses.”
(On how much his improvement as a receiver led to him being a first-round pick) “Honestly, I feel like it contributed a lot. Especially with the way the game’s going in the modern day era at the running back position, you’ve got to be a three-down back and those check-down runs really go a long way. I feel that that has really helped me really solidify my pick in the first round. I feel like working on that with Trevor throughout the first three seasons really helped me get to where I’m at today.”
(On how much he needed to be a bigger part of the passing game this season) “It was definitely a huge emphasis just knowing that we were missing guys like Tee Higgins and Justyn Ross, two guys really great at what they do. I feel like it was a big emphasis, just get me the ball out in space, get me mismatches and stuff like that. It just worked out for me.”
(On if he spoke to Trevor tonight and his reaction to getting picked by the Jaguars) “It was very crazy and I’m just excited. Trevor sent me a text and he was like, ‘Let’s go, man!’ and ‘Nobody but God,’ and we’re just ready to get together and keep on improving on what we have going on so far. We’re really both excited to have a chance to keep playing with each other and just really a great blessing, and we’re ready to get to work, honestly.”
(On what kind of a leader Trevor is and if that will be able to translate into the NFL) “Trevor’s style, the way that he leads, is definitely going to translate into the NFL. I feel like he’s always cool, calm and collected. He can just take over a whole field anytime and he always has a demeanor about himself that gives you complete trust in him. I feel like he’s definitely going to translate well into the NFL and he’s going to be a great quarterback for many years to come.”
(On if going to Clemson was the best decision he could’ve made and if it was the right decision to come back this season) “I feel like each decision I made was very meticulous, and I feel like I really put a lot of thought and effort and emphasis in every decision I’ve ever made in my life. I feel like those decisions — I couldn’t have made better decisions with how they planned out, how things went and being where I’m at today. I’m very grateful and thankful that God placed the guys like Coach Elliott and Coach Swinney in my life, and I’m very grateful for the decision to come back. Clemson was the best four years of my life, and I’m just ready and excited to see what else is in store in Jacksonville.”
(On if he was secretly rooting to come to Jacksonville) “Yes, I definitely was. When that 24th pick was there I was nervous, I didn’t know where they were going to go with it, I was kind of nervous. I’m definitely very humbled and excited to be down there in Jacksonville, can’t wait to get there. I’ve never been to Jacksonville, honestly, but I’m so excited and happy for the opportunity I have to get out there and to have Trevor there. I feel like he’s going to make that transition much easier, and we’re going to help each other a lot. I’m just really excited and can’t wait to get there, honestly. I was secretly rooting for Jacksonville.”
