What Urban Meyer told Trevor Lawrence before his Pro Day

After learning he needed shoulder surgery, quarterback Trevor Lawrence received some advice from Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer about his Pro Day.

The 2020 NFL season is now over, which means the league now transitions to draft season. It is basically a foregone conclusion that Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence is set to become the first overall selection by the Jacksonville Jaguars. Ahead of the big day, news broke that Lawrence needed surgery to repair a torn labrum in his non-throwing shoulder.

After Lawrence held his Pro Day at Clemson for all interested NFL teams last week, he went under the knife on Tuesday. As it turns out, the timing of his Pro Day is thanks to a new Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer.

In an interview with NFL Network, Meyer revealed that he called Lawrence after hearing that he needed surgery and gave him some advice on the prospect’s best course of action to be ready for the 2021 season.

Lawrence follows Meyer’s advice

”We did a Zoom call with him, and I asked him — there are three choices you have. No. 1, you can wait until March 11 Pro Day – but now you are getting near August [for a recovery time],” Meyer said on NFL Network, via Jacksonville.com. “That’s getting late because it’s a five-month recovery. It’s a six-month injury. The second thing, you can not throw.

”He’s probably a good enough player, but he said, ‘I’m not doing that.’ Third thing, I said why don’t you just grab the ball and go throw for a little bit? I’d like to send our coordinator and passing-game coordinator to watch. They’ve never seen him. I’ve seen him, so he said, ‘Let’s go.'”

As Meyer mentions in the above quote, Clemson’s Pro Day was scheduled for March 11, meaning if the quarterback had waited to hold his showcase until then, he would not be able to throw a football until late in training camp. Not throwing was not an option for Lawrence, and he opted to hold his Pro Day last week to ensure he would be ready to go for training camp.

It is no secret that the 2021 NFL Draft really begins once the Jaguars officially make their selection with the first overall pick. Lawrence has been the top prize for those teams looking to lose enough games to land the top selection and the rights to Lawrence. After a tense battle with the New York Jets, the Jaguars “won” the sweepstakes after their AFC East counterparts defeated the Los Angeles Rams and Cleveland Browns late in the season. Besides, no matter how much smokescreen Meyer and the Jaguars want to throw out there, Lawrence is 99.9 percent the guy they want on NFL Draft night.

In his final season at Clemson, Lawrence threw for 3,153 yards, 24 touchdowns and five interceptions while completing 69.2 percent of his passes. Overall, Lawrence compiled 10,098 passing yards, 90 passing touchdowns, 943 rushing yards and 18 rushing scores in his three years.

With Meyer’s words of wisdom, Lawrence will be good to go for his rookie season for whichever team drafts him. And by “whichever team,” we mean the Jaguars.