Lawerence Cager and Sam Darnold have picked up their relationship right where it left off in high school.
Cager was signed by the Jets as an undrafted free agent out of the University of Georgia this offseason. While Cager never was Darnold’s wide receiver in college, the two got to know each other when they played together in high school all-star games. They have stayed in touch throughout the years.
“Me and him were always together. He was my quarterback,” Cager told the Jets’ website. “We built a relationship there and we’ve been friends ever since. I’ve been talking to him probably since the beginning of high school until now, so it’s been a little relationship brewing.”
Cager had thoughts of attending USC with Darnold because of how close the two were in high school. However, Cager ended up at the University of Miami and then transferred to Georgia in 2019. Now he’ll get his chance with Darnold in the pros.
“I really can’t wait to step on the field and catch a fade from him,” Cager said.
The undrafted rookie also has a couple of friends on the Jets from his college days. Cager attended Miami with TE Chris Herndon and WR/PR Braxton Berrios. Cager has been relying heavily on Herndon to prepare him for life in the NFL.
“I don’t know how many conversations I’ve had with Chris just about how to be a pro and how to attack coming in being a rookie in New York,” Cager said. “To have a guy like him, one of my best friends, I know he gets tired of it, but I talk to him all the time and ask, ‘Hey, what’s this?’ and ask him questions about special teams, the installs, stuff like that so I don’t mess it up. He came in and had a great year and he’s one of my close friends.”