Trevor Lawrence, the Clemson Tigers’ newly named freshman quarterback, cares immensely about the game of football, but even more about his faith.
In a recent press conference, the freshman from Johnson City, Tennessee, opened up about his faith and how it informs his life.
"I put my identity in what Christ says, who He thinks I am and who I know that He says I am."
– Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence pic.twitter.com/y0Hl0uQOwD— Sports Spectrum (@Sports_Spectrum) September 24, 2018
“That’s just always my personality,” Lawrence told reporters. “Football’s important to me, but it’s not my life. It’s not the biggest thing in my life. I would say my faith is. That just comes from knowing who I am outside of that. No matter how the big the situation is, it’s not going to define me.”
The quarterback, who will be 19 on Oct. 6, says that keeping his identity firm in Christ is what keeps him going, even when he messes up either on or off the field.
“I put my identity in what Christ says, who He thinks I am and who I know that He says I am,” the freshman said. “Like I said, it really does not matter what people think of me or how good they think I play. That does not really matter. That has been a big thing for me, in my situation, just knowing that and having confidence in that.”
Lawrence is also vocal about how diligent he is with his time, not using social media during the football season, in order to stay as focused as possible.
“I definitely get tagged in a lot of stuff and shown a lot of stuff, but I have tried to kind of stay off Twitter and Instagram and all of that during the season,” he said. “I have looked at it a few times, but for the most part I have kept it deleted and try and stay away from that as much as I can right now.”
Last month Lawrence led the team to a 49-21 victory over Georgia Tech and was named a starter following the game, during which he split time with senior quarterback Kelly Bryant.
“He really played well,” Coach Dabo Swinney told ESPN. “He was very poised. The game has slowed down for him, and he’s making good decisions … He made some beautiful throws … and there’s just some technical things to clean up.”
When asked about Lawrence’s general demeanor, Coach Swinney said, “He is just laid back. He does not really ask or want anything. He just comes to work. That’s it.”
‘FRESH START’: Odell Beckham Jr. Baptized in the Jordan River
Co-offensive coordinator Jeff Scott said that Lawrence always keeps his cool, on the field, something he attributes to his relationship with God.
“That’s one thing we love about Trevor is he doesn’t ever seem to get rattled and the moment is not too big for him,” Scott said, as reported by The Clemson Insider. “You think about at Texas A&M, that was the largest crowd that we’d ever played in front of in the history of Clemson football, and he goes out there and his first pass is a touchdown.”
“That’s just kind of who he is,” he added.
Lawrence’s Twitter profile boasts not a picture of himself, but of a stage with the name Jesus in bright lights.
His last tweet is from July 13, when he wrote, “Just think about the privilege it is to have a Lord like ours. Imagine the mercy and grace it takes to offer us this life with Him. In all our disgusting sin and how we’ve betrayed Him, He STILL pursues us.”
https://twitter.com/Trevorlawrencee/status/1017585850903859200
“If He has done that, I’ll live this life for Him,” he added. “There’s nothing that compares.”
(H/T: The Clemson Insider)