Trevor Lawrence is one of the most gifted passers we’ve ever seen. However, Lawrence says that he won’t carry a chip around like Michael Jordan did.
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Jordan was one of the fiercest competitors the basketball world has ever seen. Night after night, Jordan would dominate his opponents, often using some unorthodox methods.
However, Lawrence doesn’t want to take away some of those characteristics. He wants to be a competitor in his own way, someone who doesn’t think that the world is against him, and that he’s the ultimate underdog.
Trevor Lawrence Doesn’t Have Anything To Prove
There are several ways to interpret what Lawrence said and what it might mean about the player he’s going to be. As a Jaguars fan, you might be feeling slightly tensed. Why wouldn’t your supposed franchise quarterback go out there fighting, proving to everyone that he did deserve the number one overall pick?
On the other hand, is the “I have everything against me and need to show it to the world that they were wrong to doubt me” mindset more old school?
It’s not like Lawrence is saying he’s going to have a carefree attitude and not care about anything at all when it comes to the NFL, it’s just that he’ll be trying to play his best night in and night out despite what other people might think and without the pressure of believing that the odds have been stacked against him. In an interview with SportsIllustrated, Lawrence had the following thoughts.
“It’s not like I need this for my life to be OK. I want to do it because I want to be the best I can be. I want to maximize my potential. Who wouldn’t want to? You kind of waste it if you don’t.”
We all know that Lawrence is a phenomenal athlete who’s mind is set on winning. He proved that much and more at Clemson, and there’s a reason he’s the presumptive number one overall pick. However, his greatness won’t be defined by the fact that he overcame everything to reach where he is, but rather because he chose to be great.
Michael Jordan & His Attitude Isn’t Someone Who Appeals To Lawrence
Jordan’s drive to be the best basketball in the world can be illustrated by so many stories. There was that time he went golfing with Charles Barkley before the 1993 Finals before ultimately destroying Barkley and humiliating him in the process.
There was also the time Jordan made up the fact that LaBradford Smith said “Nice game Mike” to Jordan after dropping 37 on him. Jordan supposedly was insulted by that fact and proceeded to drop 37 on Smith the next night…in one half. However, it later came out that Smith had never said anything to Jordan.
The point here was that Jordan was ruthless in his approach to the game, both mentally and physically. He sought to get under the skin of his opponents.
However, it’s likely that Lawrence won’t be taking that stance that all.
“It’s hard to explain that because I want people to know that I’m passionate about what I do and it’s really important to me, but … I don’t have this huge chip on my shoulder, that everyone’s out to get me and I’m trying to prove everybody wrong.”
And don’t think that Lawrence will be trying to build that kind of mentality either. The star college quarterback is not out for revenge as he believes it’s unhealthy.
“I think people mistake that for being a competitor. … I think that’s unhealthy to a certain extent, just always thinking that you’ve got to prove somebody wrong, you’ve got to do more, you’ve got to be better.”
We’re all incredibly excited for Lawrence’s NFL debut, but we have to keep in mind that he’s his own person and the biggest dictator of what kind of athlete he’s going to be. If he chooses to not play with the Jordan mindset, then that’s his decision, and something we should all respect.
