Trevor Lawrence — the starting quarterback for the Jacksonville Jaguars, a former quarterback for the Clemson Tigers, and a resident of Cartersville, Georgia — recently revealed what stopped him from playing for the Georgia Bulldogs.
A 2018 Clemson commit, Lawrence told "The Pivot" that it came down to his relationship with the coaching staff and his faith.
"The position I was in, I was a big recruit so I was treated well," Lawrence said. "But I think the underlying, the beliefs, the way the two programs kind of went about their business, the way they carried themselves? I think they were a little bit different. What it came down to, for me, was just the people. The rest of the people, everybody. ... I feel like, at the time, to go with who I am and the way I kind of wanted my career to go. And especially the people I wanted to surround myself with? I felt like Clemson was the right place for me."
Trevor Lawrence says choosing Clemson over Georgia during his recruitment came down to 'people' ...https://t.co/2Cz0PEdmgh pic.twitter.com/4YTr46zp2Z
— Brad Crawford (@BCrawford247) August 21, 2023
He then added, "I had a great relationship with coach [Kirby] Smart. I actually just saw him two weeks ago in the Bahamas. We ran into him and we caught up. I hadn't talked to him since high school. But I had a great relationship with him and with coach [Dabo] Swinney. Obviously Georgia's built something special so it's worked for them."
At Clemson, Lawrence went on to win a national championship and threw for over 10,000 passing yards and 90 touchdowns.
Still, we can't help but think of "what could have been" if Lawrence had been a Bulldog. Georgia is on top right now after winning back-to-back national championships, but maybe they add to those titles if Lawrence comes to Athens. And maybe Lawrence wins something he came close to doing at Clemson: a Heisman Trophy.