Although he couldn’t take the field as a rookie after suffering a season-ending Lisfranc injury during the preseason, Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne still had a front-row seat to watch his former Clemson teammate, Trevor Lawrence, as he went through his first season with the Jags.
It was a tough season for Lawrence, both on and off the field. Like most other rookie quarterbacks, he experienced growing pains on the field, and as the face of the Jaguars franchise, had to deal with multiple off-field issues around the organization including the firing of former head coach Urban Meyer in December.
While it wasn’t easy for Lawrence, Etienne was impressed by the way his good friend handled things during his first NFL campaign.
“I just feel like Trev matured throughout the whole season,” Etienne told reporters this week. “I feel like he dealt with a lot throughout the season. I’m pretty sure if you asked him at the beginning of the year how the season was going to go, he wouldn’t have told you it would’ve went like that. But I feel like God has a plan for all of us, and I feel like Trev handled it just as well as anybody could have.”
Entering the final game of his rookie season last Sunday vs. the Indianapolis Colts, Lawrence had completed 58.9 percent of his passes for 3,418 yards and 10 touchdowns with 17 interceptions.
But the 2021 No. 1 overall draft pick ended the season strong by playing arguably his best game against the Colts, completing 23-of-32 passes for 223 yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions while leading the Jags to a 26-11 win in Jacksonville.
“For him to go out there and just perform the way he did (vs. the Colts), I feel like that’s going to transition into next year and he’s going to be a hell of a player,” Etienne said. “Just watching him, you see the flashes, see how great he can be.”
Etienne, the Jaguars’ other first-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft (25th overall selection), missed his entire rookie season due to the Lisfranc injury he sustained in Jacksonville’s second preseason game in August.
But Etienne is progressing well in his rehab, expects to be ready for training camp in July and can’t wait to get out on the field with Lawrence when the 2022 season rolls around.
“Next year, hopefully I’m there and I want to help my boy, and hopefully I bring a sense of calmness there,” Etienne said. “So, I’m just really excited to be back alongside of him again.”
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