Clemson's Trevor Lawrence is Over NFL Speculation
Will Trevor Lawrence go to the New York Jets? Could he return to Clemson instead? What about other NFL teams in the hunt? Seriously, would he really come back to college?
The speculation is never-ending. It's something Lawrence hears and sees nonstop on television and social media.
The Clemson quarterback, though, is simply over it all.
"I really don't want to talk about it anymore, honestly," Lawrence told reporters Monday. "I'm just trying to enjoy my last whatever, a few months here if that's what it's gonna be. Whatever I decide to do, you guys will know in January, February, so just I'm just trying to enjoy it."
Lawrence, who's missed the last two games because of COVID-19, made headlines in September when the junior said on ESPN's "College GameDay" that he was "planning on this being my last year." That wasn't a huge surprise. Leaving for the NFL after three years at Clemson has been assumed for a long time for a quarterback expected to be taken first overall in the next NFL draft.
But then he offered a little different perspective and a glimmer of hope just last month when Lawrence told reporters he wanted to "see how things unfold" when asked if he had thought about returning for his senior season.
"That comment was really more so just to leave the door open," Lawrence said. "People want me to say, no matter what, for sure I'm leaving school and that's just not something I'm going to say and that's as simple as it is. It's like that's what people want to hear at the end of the day. I want to give myself opportunities and take everything in and make a decision and you know obviously I'm not going to say that for sure I'm staying or for sure I'm leaving."
Still, leaving the door open set off more controversy in terms of what he should do considering the winless New York Jets could have the first selection in the 2021 NFL Draft. Would Lawrence consider returning if such a downtrodden franchise owns the first pick? That's not something he would say, even if he considered it.
"Obviously, I'm not trying to make a stir," Lawrence said. "I don't want any more people talking about me than they already are. My thing is, I'm just never gonna corner myself to where I have to do something just because of something I said in the past so I'm leaving the door open for all my options. And that's really all I can say about it. Just trying to enjoy my time (at Clemson), however much I have left."
That's Lawrence's focus right now, something head coach Dabo Swinney has said several times, but the attention is impossible to avoid. Numerous New York reporters have popped into the Zoom press conferences in recent weeks because of the Jets and the belief that Lawrence is one of the best quarterback prospects the NFL has seen in years.
"I've really only got one more home game with three more regular-season games...so that's just kind of surreal, knowing that would be my last home game if I decide to leave," Lawrence said. "I just want to maximize it and make the most of it. I think that comes from just working every day and I look too far ahead."
