Charlie Strong: Jaguars' Pick At No. 1 Overall Is "No Secret"
The worst kept secret in the National Football League right now is that the Jacksonville Jaguars will take Clemson Tigers quarterback Trevor Lawrence first overall. It’s essentially been decided since the Jaguars were awarded the pick back in Week 16 of the 2020 season. Since then coaches and players have toed the line of straight up saying Trevor Lawrence will be a Jaguar…but everyone knows and Assistant Head Coach Charlie Strong admits as such.
Appearing for an interview with Anthony Amey of BNC (Black News Channel), Strong was asked about preparing a rookie quarterback for NFL defenses.
Said Strong, “I think that when you talk about the quarterback, whomever it may be—and everybody knows who it’s gonna be, it’s no secret—but the quarterbacks they have a different mindset themselves and they know if you wanna be successful in this league, you better have you a good quarterback.”
Last week, while previewing the upcoming draft, General Manager Trent Baalke put simply his research on Lawrence: "No negatives. [With] all the research we’ve done, you’re always looking for the stars to align when you’re looking at prospects, whether that be from a physical, mental, character aspect, whatever the case may be. With his situation, like many others in this draft, the stars all align and that’s what you’re looking for.”
Lawrence himself has all but confirmed he’d be in Jacksonville soon. After Jaguars fans put together a viral fundraiser to buy a wedding gift for Lawrence and his new wife, the shift changed and became donations for Lawrence’s charity of choice. In a thank you to fans, Lawrence tweeted: “Thank you Jaguars fans. We really appreciate the wedding gifts and donations for charities of our choice! In addition to the donations, Marissa and I will also be donating $20K to charities in Jacksonville. Thanks again, we hope to be a part of your community soon.”
So Strong’s statement is the latest in a line of near confirmations. But where others have been more a wink and a nod, Strong dispels with ambiguity.
Lawrence has always seemed destined to be “a good quarterback,” as Strong described. The Heisman finalist led the Tigers to a National Championship win over the Alabama Crimson Tide as a freshman. He went 34-2 as a starter, the only games he ever lost being in the College Football Playoff. He averaged 3,680 total yards a season and averaged 36 touchdowns a year.
Still, transitioning to the NFL can be a culture shock for even the most prepared. It is on the coaches to help make that transition easier. So before Strong referenced the certainty of who the pick will be, he addressed Amey’s original question; how to equip a rookie quarterback for NFL defenses, coaches and players who’s eyes widen when they see a first year passer.
“Well right now it’s fairly tough because of COVID and then just knowing what the direction of where we’re gonna go with the NFL and whether they’re gonna have OTA’s or what they’re gonna allow us to do,” admitted Strong.
“But as a quarterback, I think this, with [Darrel Bevell] being the offensive coordinator and then [Brian Schottenheimer] Schotty being the quarterback coach, they have a track record of getting the quarterback ready. And then [Head Coach] Urban [Meyer] is an offensive guy, he’s driven, that’s his deal is offense. So when, I think when they make that selection—and there’s been a lot poured into it and so the groundwork has already been laid—so when they make that selection, then everyone will be prepared to go.”
Everyone for the Jacksonville Jaguars includes Trevor Lawrence. Now it’s just a matter of making it official.
