Key Lawrence had a bit of a slow start to his career for the Oklahoma Sooners, but when he began to see the field regularly due to injuries, the Sooners couldn’t take him off the field. He spent time at cornerback and safety and was an important piece to the Sooners secondary down the stretch.
With [autotag]Delarrin Turner-Yell[/autotag] off to the NFL and [autotag]Patrick Fields[/autotag] to Stanford, Lawrence figures to be in for a key role in Brent Venables’ defense. With a starter’s complement of snaps, the sky’s the limit for the Tennessee product.
In anticipation of what will likely be a big season for Lawrence, he’s been named to the Lott IMPACT Trophy 2022 watch list.
Named after former NFL Hall of Fame star Ronnie Lott, The Lott Trophy annually goes to the Defensive IMPACT Player of the Year, a player who has had the biggest impact on his team both on and off the field. IMPACT stands for Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity, all characteristics exhibited by Lott during his illustrious playing career.
Lawrence is one of 42 players the voting panel will be keeping their eye on heading into 2022 and one of 14 defensive backs.
Other nominees for the award include [autotag]Will Anderson Jr[/autotag]. of Alabama. Anderson finished fifth in the Heisman voting in 2021. Lawrence joins [autotag]Felix Anudike-Uzomah[/autotag] as the only players from the Big 12 to be considered on the preseason watch list.
In 2021, Lawrence registered 47 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, a sack, and three forced fumbles while playing just the 10th-most snaps on the team last season.
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