NFL draft 2021: Meet Trevor Lawrence - the NFL's next superstar
- Published
Lawrence wants to 'earn respect'
Trevor Lawrence had been destined for this moment for years.
Ever since he became the country's top-ranked quarterback in high school, he'd been touted as a future first overall pick in the NFL draft.
The Jacksonville Jaguars made the inevitable a reality, selecting a generational talent considered one of the safest prospects in draft history - up there with John Elway (1983), Lawrence's idol Peyton Manning (1998) and Andrew Luck (2012).
The 21-year-old had a remarkable record of 86 wins and four defeats across seven years in high school and college, but he is not only an exceptional athlete.
At 6ft 6in with long blonde hair, he looks the part too, yet he's remained the humble, grounded kid that turned up for try-outs in 2007.
From being the face of his hometown Cartersville since he was 14 to being recognised as the voice of college football by the US President, here's the story behind the boy next door set to be the NFL's next superstar.
The coach who moved his son to play Lawrence at quarterback
Lawrence's family moved from Tennessee to Georgia when he was five. Aged seven, he ed the Canterbury Bulldogs youth team and was earmarked as a running back.
Coach Dave Geros was set to play his son Garrett at quarterback but when throwing the ball around before practice, Lawrence went to fetch a loose , some 35 yards from Garrett.
He picked it up, dropped his shoulder and unleashed an inch-perfect spiral into Garrett's chest.
"It was perfect, beautiful," Dave Geros told BBC Sport. "Even at that age, I saw something in Trevor that normally you just don't see.
"He had something special. Athletically, mentally, socially - he's always been head and shoulders above everyone else."
When Lawrence went to Clemson, he became the first quarterback since 1985 to win the national championship in his first year at college
Geros switched his son to wide receiver so Lawrence could play quarterback. And aged nine, a highlight reel of Lawrence appeared on YouTube. Aged 10, another clip described him as a "phenom".
Geros coached his son and Lawrence till they were 12, when they ed middle school. By the time they moved into high school at 14, Lawrence was 6ft 3in, being asked for autographs and doing media interviews.
"Everybody talked about this quarterback coming up and I was like 'how good can he be">