NFL Football Quarterback

Trevor Lawrence | Biography

Undefeated as a Freshman at Clemson

• By Puja Bhetwal
• Update : September 29, 2021

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Trevor Lawrence is an American football quarterback. He plays for the National Football League's Jacksonville Jaguars.

Who is Trevor Lawrence?

Trevor Lawrence is an NFL football quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars. He went unbeaten as a freshman at Clemson, culminating in winning the 2019 National Championship Game. He was one of the most promising high school prospects. Lawrence set the Clemson record for career quarterback wins, with only the 2020 National Championship and the 2021 Sugar Bowl defeats. The Jaguars picked him first overall in the 2021 NFL Draft because of his collegiate performance.

Early Life and Education

Trevor Lawrence was born William Trevor Lawrence on 6 October 1999, in Knoxville, Tennessee, United States, to mother Amanda and father Jeremy. His older brother Chase was born in Johnson City. 

Before his family moved to Cartersville in Georgia, they lived in Washington County. He started playing soccer when he was seven years old, and he was a member of an offensive line. He was playing with 8-year-olds, and since he was the youngest, they didn't realize he could throw the ball, so he was placed on the offensive line. The following year, he began playing quarterback, and he has been doing so ever since.

Early Career

At five, Lawrence's family moved to Georgia from Tennessee. He joined the Canterbury Bulldogs' youth squad when he was seven years old and was designated as an exit. Coach Dave Geros had planned to start his son Garrett as a quarterback, but Lawrence ran 35 yards to retrieve a wayward pass when throwing the ball around before practice. He took it up, lowered his shoulder, and lifted into Garrett's chest the perfect spiral. "It was perfect, beautiful," Dave Geros told BBC Sport. "Even at that age, I saw something in Trevor that normally you just don't see," he added.

Geros then changed his son to his wide recipient to play quarterback for Lawrence. At the age of 9, Lawrence's highlight was on YouTube, and at the age of 10, another clip called him a "phenomenon." Geros trained his son and Lawrence until they were 12 before they entered middle school. At 14, Lawrence was 6feet 3inches tall. 

Big recipients were transferred from 40,000 kilometers away to perform in the same band in high school, attracting visitors worldwide. Although Cartersville has a population of around 20,000, over 5,000 fans attend every Friday. To fulfill the demand, they had to set up makeshift stands.

College Career at Clemson University

In the 2018 recruiting class, Lawrence already had over 20 college offers. However, Lawrence narrowed his choices to Clemson and Georgia. In 2018, Lawrence and his fellow quarterback, Justin Fields, who began their career in Georgia before moving to Ohio, were the top two prospects for recruitment. Lawrence started 11 out of 15 games in 2018, winning the 'ACC Rookie of the Year' and the World Conference for the second team as they led the Tigers to their national titles. Unfortunately, Lawrence and his teammates from Clemson failed to replay the 2019 LSU juggernaut as the national champion.

Career 2020

Lawrence was the second Heisman finalist in Clemson Tigers history in 2020, after the 2015 and 2016 finalist Deshaun Watson and finished second. He was also a finalist for the 'Maxwell Award,' the 'Davey O'Brien Award,' the 'Manning Award,' the 'Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award,' the 'Walter Camp Player of the Year' Finalist, and even won the 'Bobby Bowden Trophy,' which he earned for the third time in five years. The same year he was named first-team All-American by the FWAA and Rivals, second-team All-America by the AFCA and The Athletic, third-team All-America by the AP, and CFPA' Elite National Performer of the Year.'

Furthermore, he earned the 68th 'Anthony J. McKevlin Award,' as the ACC's 'Male Athlete of the Year' across all sports for the 2020-21 academic year, and 'ACC Player of the Year,' 'ACC Offensive Player of the Year,' first-team All-ACC honoree, and first-team All-ACC honors from the AP and PFF, alongside being named a permanent team captain.

Game

Lawrence played a total of 10 games in the 2020-2021 season. His offensive statistics for the 2020-2021 season include total completed passes (CMP) of 231, attempted passes (ATT) of 334, total yards thrown (YDS) of 3153, and touchdowns thrown (TD) of 24, with the percentage of passes thrown for touchdowns as 69.16 percent. In addition, he threw five interceptions (INT) and completed 83 passes for a total of 83 yards. His rushing offensive statistics included 68 attempted carries (ATT), 203 total yards run, 8 rushing touchdowns, and the total longest rush of 34. He scored a total of 211 touchdowns averaging 21.1 per game. 

He missed 2 games after testing positive for Covid. 

Career 2019

Lawrence was one of ten student-athletes from all sports who were selected as finalists for the AAU's 'James E. Sullivan Award,' given yearly to the best amateur athlete in the country in his 2019-2020 career. He was also a finalist for the 'Manning Award,' a semifinalist for the 'Davey O'Brien Award' and 'Walter Camp Player of the Year Award,' a first-team All-ACC pick, and an All-ACC Academic selection for the second straight year.

Game

Lawrence played a total of 15 games in the 2019-2020 season. His 2019-2020 offensive statistics included a total CMP of 268, ATT of 407, YDS of 3665, and TD of 36, with the percentage of passes thrown for touchdowns as 65.85%. He scored an INT of 8, and his longest pass totaled 87. His rushing offensive statistics comprised ATT of 103, YDS of 563, TD of 9, and his total longest rushes of 67. He scored a total of 563 touchdowns averaging 37.5 per game.  

Career 2018

Lawrence was named a freshman All-America by the FWAA, ESPN, USA Today, The Athletic, and 247Sports during his 2018-2019 season at Clemson Tiger. He was the semifinalist for the 'Manning Award,' and 'Davey O'Brien Award.' The same season, he won the 'Archie Griffin Award for Most Valuable Player' from the Touchdown Club of Columbus, 'Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year,' 'ACC Rookie of the Year,' 'ACC Offensive Rookie of the Year,' second-team All-ACC, 'AP ACC Newcomer of the Year,' and was named to the All-ACC Academic Team.

Game

Lawrence played a total of 15 games in the 2018-19 season. His offensive statistics comprised a total CMP of 259, ATT of 397, YDS of 3280, and TD of 30, with 65.24 percent passes thrown for touchdowns. His total INT was 4, and his longest passing totaled 74. Furthermore, his rushing offensive statistics included ATT of 60, YDS of 177, TD of 1, and 32 long carries. He scored a total of 165 touchdowns averaging 11 per game.

Career before joining Clemson

Before his career at Clemson, Trevor was a four-year starter at Cartersville High School, where Joey King coached him.

Lawrence made his first start in the third game of his freshman year and finished his career with a 52-2 record as a starter, including a 41-game unbeaten run and a 14-2 playoff record. He steered his team to four region wins and two state titles, passing for 13,908 yards and 161 touchdowns to 21 interceptions. Lawrence broke the state records for passing yards and touchdowns formerly held by Tiger Deshaun Watson (2014-16). He passed for 3,396 yards and 41 touchdowns on 177-of-256 passing with one interception in 12 games as a senior and rushed for 200 yards and two scores on 30 carries.

He led his team to a 15-0 record and the state championship as a junior, completing 250 of 406 passes for 3,904 yards and 51 touchdowns against nine interceptions. Before this, he drove his team to a 15-0 record and the state championship as a sophomore, completing 233 of 364 passes for 3,655 yards and 43 touchdowns against four interceptions. As a sophomore, he also rushed for 235 yards and four touchdowns on 52 runs. He was selected first-team all-state as a sophomore, junior, and senior and was invited to Nike's The Opening in 2017. 

Lawrence was ranked No. 1 player in the country, number 1 quarterback in the country, number 1 player in Georgia by 247Sports and Rivals, and the number 2 player by ESPN before attending Clemson. He was also the recipient of the 'USA Today National Offensive Player-of-the-Year' award, the 'US Army Player-of-the-Year' award, and 'Gatorade Player of the Year,' in Georgia as a junior and senior. 

NFL Draft

In 2021, Lawrence was expected to move into a starting position for first-year head coach Urban Meyer's Jacksonville Jaguars. Lawrence was officially picked first overall by the Jacksonville Jaguars after he underwent surgery to repair a torn labrum in his left shoulder. The Jaguars had ended with a league-worst 1–15 record the previous season. 

On 5 July 2021, he signed a four-year rookie contract for $36.8 million with a $24.1 million signing bonus. On 25 August 2021, ahead of the last week of the preseason, Lawrence was named the Jaguars' starting quarterback for 2021.

Personal Life

Lawrence married Marissa Mowry on 10 April 2021, after dating her since high school. She is also an adept athlete like Lawrence and has been playing soccer since five. 

Moreover, Mowry was an honors student from Cartersville High School, where she was recognized as a varsity athlete for four years. Thereafter, she attended Anderson University and was a part of its Women's soccer program. She graduated from the University in 2021 with a communications degree specializing in public relations. 

In his tweet on 8 February 2018, Lawrence congratulated Mowry for committing to Anderson University to play soccer.

Trevor Lawrence and Marissa Mowry COVID-19 Relief Fund

Lawrence with his wife Marissa Mowry shared a clip on his Instagram handle on 28 March 2020, announcing their support plan for COVID-19 relief. It was a fundraising initiative to gather funds for families impacted by the Covid outbreak dubbed "Trevor Lawrence and Marissa Mowry COVID-19 Relief Fund." 

Following the plan's approval by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), Lawrence and Mowry partnered with the Community Foundation of Northwest Georgia to extend support to the Cartersville-Bartow area and Upstate South Carolina, their neighborhood.

"Marissa and I have created the Fund to help our friends and neighbors in the Cartersville and Upstate South Carolina communities deal with some of the challenges brought about by the COVID-19 situation," TigerNet reported Lawrence's statement on 28 March 2020. "We hope others will join us in supporting the many families in need. These are challenging times, and no one should be left behind," he added.

Interesting Facts

His professors used to call him 'William,' while his teammates and fans call him 'Sunshine.' But, he doesn't like both the names and prefers to be called Trevor.