Trevor Lawrence, the former quarterback of the Clemson Tigers, had good reasons to organize his day on Friday, a month earlier. Lawrence wanted to prove to the NFL teams that he is capable of doing well when things don’t go according to plan.
“The original plan was to train for two months in California, then come back on March 11 and do a show and do it all, but life happens sometimes,” Lawrence told ACC Network / ESPN2 after his 45-minute workout. at Clemson on Friday. “Just to help me and show that I am able to adapt and adapt and I am still willing to come here and throw and give the teams a chance to see me, it was important for me and important for my team to he assured me that I had succeeded. .
“Obviously it wasn’t necessarily the ideal situation and circumstances, but I think we did an excellent job, just handling and navigating through it all.”
Lawrence moved his professional day because he is scheduled to undergo surgery to repair the damage to the labrum in his left shoulder (which does not throw) and wanted it completely cleaned before the training camps opened in July. He threw about 40 passes – most from under the center – to receivers Cornell Powell, Charone Peake, Caleb Scott and Chris Finke at Clemson’s indoor practice building.
Lawrence said he expects to start throwing six to eight weeks after surgery and be fully released after four to five months.
On Friday, Lawrence threw a variety of passes, which included several throws, and ended with a 65-meter deep throw on a broken piece in which he shuffled before throwing the ball. That throw drew praise from ESPN’s on-air crew as well as social media. But ESPN NFL analyst Todd McShay, who was in training, was more impressed with Lawrence’s work in the red zone.
“Quickly take the ball out and throw the ball up, where the defender can’t go, take it,” McShay said in the broadcast. “Today I saw constantly in the red zone, only the ability to throw the ball up in that specific place, the placement of the ball.
“Yes, the deep throws were great, and the vertical throws are what everyone loves … But in the red zone you can learn a little about a defender in terms of how fast he takes it out and where he places the ball.”
Thirty-one people from 17 NFL teams were scheduled to train, including three from the Jacksonville Jaguars: head coach Urban Meyer, offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell and passing game coordinator Brian Schottenheimer. The Jaguars have the best pick in the April 29 draft, and Meyer has spent most of his standing training with Clemson coach Dabo Swinney a few feet from Lawrence.
“Yes, yes. I saw him,” Lawrence said with a smile. “I saw a lot of the guys coming, but yeah, I saw him. I just motioned to him quickly. I can’t really communicate there. But yeah, it was great to see all the teams come out. It’s definitely a one It’s a great experience. I’m glad I was able to do it again. “
Lawrence – who measured 6 feet 5/8 and 213 pounds with 10-inch hands, 34 ½-inch arms and a 78-wing wing span – said he was looking forward to learning a new offensive system as well. to life in the NFL. He said he enjoys the mental challenge of football, which any coach wants to hear.
“I think mentally, obviously, the game is a little different at the NFL level and what’s at your disposal,” Lawrence said. “So, just taking this time, especially after surgery, to really prepare myself mentally, while I can’t physically, and once I can physically, I’ll just be ground and prepared. Just very excited about that challenge.
“I like to learn. This is one of my favorite parts about the game. It’s such a fun thing to learn a new system and kind of play it all together. It’s a lot of fun, so I’m excited to do that, but I think that’s the biggest thing is just mental, defensive recognition, playing card, all that stuff. “