Trevor Lawrence talks Doug Pederson, adjustments from college to NFL

The Jacksonville Jaguars second-year quarterback Trevor Lawrence is coming off a rookie year where he had to deal with nonstop drama and distractions with his old head coach, Urban Meyer. Luckily for Lawrence, his old head coach was fired by Jaguars’ owner Shad Khan on Dec. 16, before Meyer could even finish one year. Khan canned Meyer and he recently decided to hire former Philadelphia Eagles head coach Doug Pederson to replace him. On Wednesday’s NFL Total Access on NFL Network, Lawrence stopped by the show to discuss his thoughts on his new head coach in Jacksonville and some of the biggest challenges in adjusting from college to the pros.

Lawrence was first asked if he’s gotten to speak with Doug Pederson and what his interactions with him have been like. “We’ve talked a couple of times. We talked Thursday right before everything became official. I got to meet him when he came to town after it…when he did media and all that,” Lawrence said.

He then talked about how excited he was to work with his new head coach. “I’m really excited. I think personality wise, we mesh really well. I think we’re similar. And just seeing the job he did at Philly and the success they had. And the things they were able to do offensively is really impressive. I do think it’s cool…having a head coach who is that offensive guy, who was a quarterback. Has that experience to draw from. I’m really excited for that.”

“I think it’s gonna be a great combination and excited to see the rest of the staff come into place, and really just get back to work. Make all the improvements we need to make in order to have the year we want to have next season.”

Kurt Warner then asked Lawrence what his biggest challenge and biggest surprise was from transitioning from college football to the NFL.

Lawrence on the biggest adjustment for him in transitioning from college football to the NFL

“I would say situational football….is so much more important in the NFL compared to college. I could count on one hand, probably the amount of games in college that came down to one or two possessions. In the NFL, it’s pretty much every week. You’re not gonna have many games you win by multiple scores. I think that was a big adjustment for me and realizing the importance of that and just learning a lot. I had a lot to learn this past year and still have a ton to learn. But I feel really good with where I’m at. I think I progressed as the season went on…every game. [The] stat line might not say that but I just know mentally the situations I was in and the things I was exposed to. I feel great about the progress I made and where I’m at.”

“But I think that was the biggest adjustment: understanding situational football and really trying to put us in the best position to win is a lot. It’s not as simple as it sounds sometimes. I thought I learned a lot about that,” the former Clemson signal-caller said.

Lawrence was definitely right about the stats not showing improvement during his rookie season. He completed 59.6 percent of his passes for 3,641 passing yards, while tossing in 12 touchdowns and 17 interceptions. It’s tough to measure his rookie season, though, because of the tremendous amount of dysfunction/drama from Urban Meyer.

As the number one overall selection in the 2021 NFL Draft, Lawrence surely knows much better things will be expected of him in the 2022 season and beyond. Hopefully Doug Pederson will help not only his development, but the rest of the Jaguars’ organization.