Since the Jaguars completed the No. 1 overall pick in this year’s draft, it’s a foregone conclusion that the club will use that roster on Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence, a potential generation talent. If you wanted even more proof that Jacksonville will make Lawrence the first player to hear his name called when the draft starts on April 29, you’ve got it.
Lawrence had surgery on his left (non-throwing) shoulder yesterday, but to show his abilities before going under the knife, he held an early pro day last Friday. And as John Reid of the Florida Times Union writes, new Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer was instrumental in bringing about that pro day.
When he learned just over a week ago that Lawrence needed surgery, Meyer said he’d had several phone calls with his future quarterback. “We made a Zoom call with him and I asked him – you have three choices. No. 1, you can wait until March 11 Pro Day – but now you’re getting close to August [for a recovery time] Meyer said. ‘That is getting late, because it is a recovery period of five months. It’s a six-month injury. The second thing, you can’t throw. “
While Lawrence didn’t really have anything to prove, he didn’t like the second option. He wanted to have a showcase, but he agreed with Meyer that waiting until March 11 pro day – which would mean delaying his surgery until sometime after March 11 – would push his recovery too far into the summer. So then, as Meyer said, ‘I said why don’t you just get the ball and throw a little bit? I want to send our coordinator and the match coordinator to watch. They have never seen him. I saw him, so he said, “Let’s go.” “
Lawrence was predictably brilliant on his pro day, so even if the Jags had questions about his abilities, they probably won’t now. Together with Meyer, offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and passing match coordinator Brian Schottenheimer were present. Jacksonville is probably still a year or two away from the playoff battle, but having Lawrence below the middle is expected to speed up the team’s rebuilding quite a bit.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.