Jaguars QB Trevor Lawrence: ‘Really cool feeling’ to be named captain

The Jacksonville Jaguars are just a few days away from making their season debut against the Houston Texans. On Wednesday, head coach Urban Meyer spoke to the local media and announced the team captains for the 2021 NFL season. Among the names on the list was that of quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

Despite the fact that this is Lawrence’s first year in the NFL, his teammates believed he was worthy of the honor. Just like Meyer, he had a sitdown with local media and talked about earning the honor. The former Clemson Tiger says it’s a “really cool feeling” to be first named the starting quarterback and a team captain. He went on to say that it’s now time to win some games.

"Just having that support from my teammates. Being named starter than our captain, nothing changes, same expectation. And now, it’s time to go out there and win some games. But I’m really excited it’s definitely an honor. It’s a cool, cool moment for me to be named a captain with those other guys, just a bunch of great guys in the locker room."

Lawrence thinks that being named captain “brings clarity to everything”. Nevertheless, he believes there are a ton of players who are as much a leader and equally deserving as him. The rookie quarterback acknowledged that it does mean something but “there’s a lot of other guys that help lead this thing”. The other players that were named captains were center Brandon Linder, safety Rayshawn Jenkins, linebacker Myles Jack, cornerback Shaquill Griffin, safety Rayshawn Jenkins, and wide receiver Marvin Jones jr.

Trevor Lawrence is ready to lead the Jacksonville Jaguars in Year 1.

Urban Meyer pointed out that players, not the coaching staff, were responsible for choosing the team captains. It’s not uncommon for rookies to earn the honor and nobody would have raised an eyebrow if Lawrence hadn’t gotten the honor. However, his selection speaks volumes about how ready he is to lead the team in his first year in the NFL.

Even though the expectation surrounding the Jaguars are relatively low ahead of the 2021 season, Lawrence has gotten plenty of scrutiny due to being the first overall pick in this year’s draft. Every mistake he makes will be amplified sevenfold. Also, he will often be compared to fellow rookie signal-callers Justin Fields, Zach Wilson, Trey Lance, and Mac Jones. Don’t be surprised if talking heads start talking about how the Jags dropped the ball with Lawrence if he goes through a rough stretch in 2021.

On the bright side, the 2020 ACC Player of The Year won’t have to carry the team on his shoulders from the outset. The Jaguars have spent the last few months adding reinforcements to a well-rounded wide receiver corps throughout. Also, the team’s brass fortified the defense to make sure Lawrence doesn’t have to score more than 30 points every game.

Jaguars fans have been exposed to a subpar brand of football and more than a fair share of losing for many years. Moving forward, Lawrence gives them a big reason to be optimistic not only in 2021 but for the foreseeable future.