New on Sports Illustrated: Jaguars Select Trevor Lawrence No. 1 in 2021 NFL Draft

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Lawrence finished his college career with the most wins by a quarterback in Clemson history.

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Jaguars selected Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence with the No. 1 pick in the 2021 NFL draft.

The Cartersville, Ga., native will travel nearly six hours to his NFL home in Jacksonville. He joins Jaguars first-year coach Urban Meyer, who never shied away from his interest in the quarterback from day one.

When asked by NBC Sports' Peter King last month whether there was any mystery about Jacksonville's selecting Lawrence first, Meyer said, "I’d have to say that’s the direction we’re going. I’ll leave that up to the owner when we make that decision official. But I’m certainly not stepping out of line that that’s certainly the direction we’re headed.”

Lawrence entered the draft as the presumptive top pick, having excelled at Clemson, finishing his college career with the most wins by a quarterback in Clemson history (34), passing Rodney Williams, Tajh Boyd and Deshaun Watson. 

He won the national championship in 2019 and played again in the title game the following year in Clemson's loss to LSU. In his final college season, Lawrence led the Tigers to a 10-2 record, and a third consecutive College Football Playoff appearance.

Overall, Lawrence's winning percentage (.944) was the third-best as a starting quarterback with at least 30 starts since the Division I split in 1978.

The Unrivaled Arrival of Trevor Lawrence

Jacksonville has not recorded a winning season since 2017 when the team finished 10-6 and lost to the Patriots in the 2018 AFC championship game. Jacksonville has compiled a 12-36 record since the 2017 season.

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