By: Hays Carlyon
Welcome to Jacksonville, Trevor.
Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence announced his intentions to enter the NFL Draft on Wednesday, alleviating fears from Jaguars fans he would return to school for his senior season.
Lawrence’s decision brought cheers in Jacksonville. The Jaguars (1-15) are expected to take Lawrence with the No. 1 pick on April 29 regardless of who Jaguars owner Shad Khan hires to be the coach and general manager.
Lawrence, the Heisman Trophy runner-up, won a national championship as a true freshman for the Tigers. He completed his brilliant career completing 758 of 1,138 passes (66.6 percent) for 10,098 yards with 90 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. The 6-foot-6, 220-pound Lawrence also ran for 943 yards and 18 scores in his career.
Lawrence is considered by the vast majority of NFL experts to be among the best quarterback prospects in the last 40 years.
Lawrence will be 21 years old when he makes his first start for the Jaguars. He turns 22 on Oct. 6. Lawrence is engaged to Marissa Mowry, is very active in his church and has a marketing degree.
After the Jaguars select Lawrence with the top pick, they will have 10 more picks to continue to build around him. The Jaguars have an additional first rounder (Rams), two second-round picks (Vikings), their third-round choice and two fourth-round selections (Rams).
The Jaguars will also have new building blocks prior to Lawrence’s arrival. Armed with significant salary-cap space, the Jaguars are expected to be incredibly active in free agency in March.
If Lawrence lives up to the enormous hype placed upon him, Jan. 6, 2021 will be a day celebrated in Jacksonville for decades.
(You can email Hays at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @HaysCarlyon)
