Trevor Lawrence bounces back from shaky start to Jaguars training camp

The Jacksonville Jaguars selected quarterback Trevor Lawrence first overall in this spring’s NFL Draft to make him the new face of its beleaguered franchise. And after a shaky start to Jaguars’ training camp, Lawrence bounced back with a strong performance on Tuesday.

Jacksonville wants Lawrence to learn from early mistakes

ESPN reported that Lawrence completed 18 of 27 pass attempts during 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills in Tuesday’s practice. He also converted four first downs in five attempts in third-down work. Mistakes are expected from a young quarterback, but Jacksonville is hoping that Lawrence is able to use those mistakes to get better in the long run.

“This is where we want him to make those mistakes,” Jaguars offensive coordinator Darrell Bevell said. “We want him to learn. We want him to grow. We’re going to try and put him in the toughest situations possible and then be able to see how he reacts right there in the moment and see how he’s able to bounce back the next day as well. I like what he did [on Tuesday]. We still had another turnover today, but we’ll continue to work on that.”

On a young and developing Jaguars roster that has a ways to go to truly contend, bouncing back from mistakes and using them to improve as a player is key for a rookie like Lawrence.

Lawrence has high expectations on him

During a storied collegiate career at Clemson, Lawrence threw for more than 10,000 yards and had 108 total touchdowns in his three years with the Tigers.

Meanwhile, the Jaguars have been searching for their franchise quarterback for some time. That includes 13 different quarterbacks making starts for Jacksonville since 2010, with only Blake Bortles has started all 16 games in a season during that stretch. Gardner Minshew, Mike Glennon and Jake Luton all started multiple games for the Jaguars last season.

Now it is time for Lawrence to take over. He is looking to carry over his winning ways in college when Lawrence posted a 34-2 record as Clemson’s starting quarterback. The Tigers won the 2019 National Championship and made it back to the championship game again in 2020.

Lawrence has former Clemson teammate Travis Etienne in Jacksonville alongside him. They are part of a young offensive core that includes second-year running back James Robinson and wide receivers DJ Chark, Marvin Jones Jr. and Laviska Shenault. The offense will likely take time to reach its potential.

Which is why the ability for Lawrence to bounce back and stay confident when mistakes are made is vital. The Jaguars have made the playoffs just three times since 2000. They are hoping Lawrence can lead the charge to change the fortunes in Jacksonville.

Image courtesy of: James Gilbert via Getty Images.