JAGUARS QB TREVOR LAWRENCE
April 29, 2021
(On what he would like to say to Jaguars fans) “First of all how excited I am to be coming down to Jacksonville. I couldn’t be more excited; I think it’s a great fit. Me and my family, we are just so excited to get down there. Thank you guys for all the support already. We’re not even there yet, and we definitely feel the love and support. Really excited just to bring some energy to the city and do everything in my power to get us back to where we want to be. Thank you guys so much. This is going to be a really fun year and just know that once I get there, all my focus, all my attention is to making us the best we can be, so thank you guys.”
(On his message to the fans and everyone) “Just that I’m going to put the work in, no one’s going to work harder. I know I’m going to love the city, so I’m super excited to be there. That’s really the main thing that I can say is that I’m going to put the work in, I’m going to do what it takes. I feel really good about the coaching staff and the team that we have in Jacksonville, and I’m super excited to get down there and meet everybody. I’m just pumped and the best is yet to come. That’s what we said here at Clemson, and I’m just going to take that on to the next step which is Jacksonville. I’m super excited to be a Jag.”
(On how much he’s been able to gather from talking to Coach Meyer and his expectations in being able to lead as a rookie) “First of all with Coach Meyer, I got a great feel from just talking to him on the phone and obviously I’m excited to get down there and be in person with the guys and coaches and all that. The biggest thing is that he’s a winner, you’ve seen he’s done that his whole career, so I’m really excited to be a part of that. Number two, like you said about adjusting and adapting, I think that’s something I do well just because I want to earn the respect of everyone around me — teammates and coaches. I’m not expecting for anyone to hand me anything. I want to come in there and earn the respect and the right to lead the team. That’s what I’m going to do and just to put the work in like I said.”
(On if he expects to start Week 1) “My mindset always going in is that I’m going to earn everything that I get, so coming in I don’t have any expectations from anyone else other than myself. I expect to perform well and to adjust quickly and be ready to go, and that’s something I expect a lot out of myself, so that’s where I’m at mentally. From there like I said it’s just about earning – I think the biggest thing is – the respect and trust of your teammates. Without that it doesn’t really matter what you expect going in, you’ve got to earn that first. I’m just going to take it step by step, but like I said I’m going to do everything in my power to prepare, to be the best I can be and put us in the best chance to win.”
(On what it felt like to be drafted and what this process has been like) “It was awesome. It was almost like a weight lifted off my shoulders. There’s obviously been a lot of expectations coming into this draft and just nothing’s like official and a lot of things going on and obviously with my shoulder and all that, working to get healthy, and I feel like I’m in a great spot and my body’s feeling great. Finally, getting to experience this moment that we’ve all been waiting for a long time with my family and friends was really special. Just like I said, I’m so excited to be a part of the Jacksonville community. Me and my wife, Marissa, we’re excited to get down there and really can’t wait to go to work and plug into the community.”
(On when he found out about Jaguars fans buying him a toaster, raising money for charity and his reaction to it) “We found out probably maybe a week and a half, two weeks ago, and I think it just shows how special the community is in Jacksonville. We had seen that kind of in the past before then, but especially then it showed the support they had for us. We were really hoping that that was the landing spot, obviously that just added to it, a super special community. It shows how much they believe in themselves, in the community and the people they’re bringing in and we’re just really excited to be a part of that. Super cool, obviously, whenever you can give back and help people in need, it’s obviously a plus.”
(On why it is so important to him to invest in the community) “I think it’s just important to be normal. One way to do that is plugging into the community, investing in the community and caring about the people around you, and that’s kind of been something me and Marissa wanted to do wherever we ended up and now that we officially know that it’s Jacksonville we just can’t wait to get started and like I said plug in and just love all the people around us. It’s a lot of fun and just super excited for it.”
(On when he first thought he was going to Jacksonville) “I guess I never want to put the cart before the horse, if you will. In my mind, even before, we were practicing setting up and we have a bunch of different hats, Jacksonville’s one of them, we’re doing a video test and I didn’t want to put the hat on, I didn’t want to jinx it. I’m just like let’s wait until it’s official before we put it on. Obviously, I had an idea that’s what was going to happen, and honestly was hoping for that. I think that’s such a good fit for me and my family. There wasn’t really a specific moment that I was like, ‘Yep, it’s happening.’”
(On what it means to be the first-ever number one overall pick from Clemson and his message to Clemson fans) “First of all, thank you. You guys have made my experience here at Clemson the best I could ever imagine. Coming into school, never would’ve dreamed of being at this point but also the success that we had and just the support, aside from the success, the support you showed week in and week out in everything we do. On top of that, being the first number one pick from Clemson, there’s been so many great players come through Clemson, that’s obviously special to me, and I don’t take that lightly. It just shows we kind of made history ever since I’ve been at Clemson and it’s been awesome to be a part of that with Coach Swinney and all my teammates and just to continue to do that. That’s the plan moving on to Jacksonville — continue to do things that haven’t been done, continue to lead and do things the right way.”
(On what he views his biggest challenges are adjusting to the NFL level and are there NFL quarterbacks he’s studied to prepare for this) “Obviously just making that transition from college to the NFL, it’s kind of a holistic approach, like you kind of have to get better at everything. I’m just trying to fine tune footwork, mechanics, mentally get sharper and then now it’s transitioning to let’s learn the playbook, get ready for camp. Like I said the main thing is getting there and adjusting to new teammates, coaches and really just seamlessly fitting in and like I said earning the respect and trust of teammates is huge to me. Like you said guys I watched, Russell Wilson is definitely one, just guys that are super efficient, really smart the way they play, methodical, I think Aaron Rodgers is a great example of that, there’s a ton. Tom Brady obviously has been doing it forever. Watching him, someone that is that consistent, I think you can always learn something from him, so those are some guys that I like to watch. There’s obviously a ton more.”
(On how much of an adjustment it is going to be transitioning to the NFL competition) “I’m bringing the same mindset. Obviously it’s different, you’re not playing the same competition and you’re playing the best of the best week in and week out, but I think that mindset is still important. You still have to expect to win, still have to prepare the same way. I don’t know what the point is if you don’t expect to win every week. So I’m going to bring that same mindset, obviously it’s going to be more challenging just the nature of the beast, you’re playing the best every week. I know it’s going to be more challenging, but I think for me it’s more so just keeping that same mindset instead of adjusting.”
