Lawrence and Jack Reflect on Being Named Captains In First Season Under Meyer

There are certain achievements in the NFL that players strive for, benchmarks they set to know they’re accomplishing their goals. Pro Bowls, playoff wins, MVP seasons, categorical leaders at their position; they’re all a way to define a career well lived in the league.

But few accomplishments mean more than being named a team captain. At least, that’s how Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Myles Jack feels.

“I just feel like it’s one of the highest honors especially in the NFL. A lot of awards can kind of be skewed, but to be in your building and have people feel like you deserve to be a captain, I truly appreciate it,” Jack expressed while speaking with local media on Wednesday afternoon, after it was announced he was one of the Jags seven team captains.

In all, the elected captains for the 2021 season are: Jack, quarterback Trevor Lawrence, corner Shaquille Griffin, linebacker Josh Allen, wide receiver Marvin Jones, safety Rayshawn Jenkins and offensive lineman Brandon Linder.

We introduced the 2021 @jaguars team captains in a very special way! One of my favorite moments of the year. #OwnIt https://t.co/zca1bLQQWc
— Urban Meyer (@CoachUrbanMeyer) September 8, 2021

Jack and Lawrence, both meeting with the media on Wednesday following the announcement, represent the balance this Jaguars team is trying to strike. Four of the captains are new faces. Three are ones that have spent their entire careers with the Jaguars. Lawrence is the only rookie and the unquestioned leader on the offense. Jack is heading into his sixth year in the NFL, the longest tenured player on the Jags defense.

For a team that has 22 new faces amongst the 53-man roster, marrying the old and the new is a way to honor those who have fought to give the Jaguars hope in recent years, while rallying behind those here to save them.

The fact that those new guys bought into Jack’s leadership so quickly is the greatest compliment for the linebacker.

“There’re so many new guys, it’s a brand-new team. I guess to just kind of have that kind of respect and people think that highly of you means a lot, so it’s really cool.”

According to Head Coach Urban Meyer, it was Jack who got the highest number of votes from his teammates to be named captain. Lawrence received the third most. But the lack of parity between some of the top vote getters is what led Meyer to expand the captain list.

Even so, it wasn’t totally shocking that it was Jack at the top of the list.

“He’s been that way since we got here. You know, he’s always had a very good reputation, but he’s exceeded that with us so far,” commented Meyer on Jack. “Coach [Charlie] Strong and him are extremely close. We’re seeing a side of him that we’ve pulled out of him, I hope. We always say you have to lead yourself before you lead others. He’s stronger than he’s ever been, his body’s right. So, he’s in a good place.”

One of the pillars of Jack’s place with the team—and thus what made him a captain—is his ability and willingness to mentor anyone around him. It was something the felt the benefit of thanks to former Jaguars linebacker Poz [Paul Posluszny] and he knows he’s now in that position to do the same for those behind him; especially as an old head on a young team.

“It’s cool because I feel like it’s a disservice [not to be]. Even as human beings, when you get a piece of information, your job is to pass it down to the next generation just so that way they can kind of speed through what you messed up on. That’s really what I try to help Shaq[uille Quarterman] with. When you’re young, there’s days when it’s good, there’s days when it’s bad, there’s hard days at practice and you just have to embrace it. Not every day you’re going to go out there and practice and have a fantastic practice, but that’s the point of it. You learn from it, get better, and go from there.”

Trevor Lawrence may be the young gun new kid, but his success to this point—from high school to college to being the No. 1 overall pick this past April—has been in large part thanks to his ability to rally a team around him. It’s a known and applauded trait of Lawrence as a teammate. That doesn’t make its recognition in the form of a captaincy any less heady.

“It’s a really cool feeling, especially as a younger guy just having that support from my teammates. Like I said, from being named a starter to now a captain, nothing changes, same expectation. Now it’s time to go out there and win some games, but I’m really excited. It’s definitely an honor,” expressed Lawrence on Wednesday.

While having the "C" on his jersey gives Lawrence perceived carte blanche to be the voice in a room, his desire to be one of many in the room is arguably what led his teammates to look to him in the end after all. It’s also what will help unite a franchise that had at best been wayward in recent years.

“I guess it brings clarity to everything. But at the same time, there’s a ton of guys on our team that won’t have that ‘C’ that are just as much a leader as me or as anyone else. That does mean something, but also there’s a lot of other guys that help lead this thing and we are all in it together. No one person has to carry it all.

The seven captains will be tasking with leading the charge for a comeback team; the ones picking up those around them to avoid another slip into 1-15. To do so, it will take every one, from Myles Jack to Trevor Lawrence and each and every captain and player and coach in between. For Lawrence’s part, he sees the Jaguars as a whole in the right spot to make it happen.

“The team is gelling. We just have a lot of good dudes on the team, hard workers, and it’s cool to be around. You hear a lot of different things in college about the NFL and how guys only care about getting paid, as long as they have a good contract and they are getting their money, they don’t really care, but we just don’t have guys like that here. That hasn’t been my experience at all, and I think that’s cool to be on a team like that.”