HS Coach: Sky's the Limit for UGA Target Lawrence (Interview)

Trevor Lawrence is a priority for UGA as he is the top quarterback in the 2018 class.

Yours truly recently visited a Cartersville High School spring football practice. If you don’t know, Cartersville is the reigning Georgia GHSA AAAA State Champions and more importantly is the home of the No. 1 quarterback in the class of 2018 Trevor Lawrence.

Lawrence is a 5-star quarterback according to 247 Sports and is ultra-talented. The kid has an absolutely amazing arm and is extremely impressive. He seems like a genuinely nice guy too.

Lawrence is being looked at by pretty much every school in the country, but according to an anonymous source close to Lawrence, his main contenders are Tennessee (where his parents attended) and Georgia. Wherever he goes, Lawrence will make a splash on whichever college campus he goes to. Here are my reflections after the practice I attended and an exclusive interview with Cartersville Head Coach Joey King on his star player.

It was a warm, beautiful day in northern part of Georgia as the Cartersville High School varsity football team was holding their spring practice. I was waiting for the practice to start outside a room where the players were viewing film. As soon as it was dismissed, the players starting jogging out of the building and onto the practice field.

That’s when I saw him – Trevor Lawrence the No. 1 QB in the country. My first impression was how tall he was. He towered over me and most of the players on the Cartersville roster.

Lawrence appeared loose and nonchalant at the practice, and that seems to fit his happy and laid back personality. He even shared a joke with a coach and with other players. But when it mattered, Lawrence was all business.

He started off practice throwing with the second string quarterback to warm up his arm. The next drills were focused on footwork and dropping back. He spent a lot of the practice helping the second-string quarterback as that was the main focus from the coaches.

Lawrence is a well-known commodity after all. The 6-6, 196 pound signal caller has received offers from all over the country as many teams covet his services. In fact, a Stanford University scout (who I later found out was Stanford Defensive Coordinator Lance Anderson) was there.

The scout gushed over Lawrence’s talent and for good reason. The rising junior quarterback showed off his amazing arm in his two seasons at Cartersville as he has thrown for 6,697 yards with a 62% completion rate for 69 touchdowns and only eleven interceptions. He has had a heck of a career so far from starting as a true freshman (and receiving awards) to improving his sophomore season and leading his team to their first state championship (over one of the most feared teams in Georgia in Buford High School) since 1999 and the third in school history.

Lawrence not only has a cannon for an arm but is very polished as a passer and is very accurate. Another great ability Lawrence has is his athleticism to evade defenders and stay in the pocket and make a solid throw.

Lawrence was impressive in person at the practice as he has some nice zip on his passes. He can make all the throws. I came away even more impressed by Lawrence and believe he has amazing potential.

After two hours, practice was ended, and the players trudged back into the locker room. A few minutes later, I sat down with Lawrence’s head coach Joey King to get his take on his star player.

JH: “What was your first interaction with Lawrence?”

King: “I guess my first interaction was shortly after I got hired when I went to the middle school two years ago and met all the rising 9th graders so the current 8th graders. He (Lawrence) was about a foot and a half taller than everybody else. Obviously, I knew about him coming into the situation. So that’s the first time I met him. But our first interaction was probably spring ball that year – his 8th grade year going into his 9th grade year, and we knew he was going to be a special player.”

Top 2018 QB and UGA prospect Trevor Lawrence has unreal talent. /

JH: “Was there a specific moment you knew he was going to be special?”

King: “Yeah, I’ve had a couple of people ask me that question. I remember we were throwing a four vertical concept. We had a two beater on by the inside receiver, and Trevor was in. Soon as that beater cleared the linebacker he hit the kid in the earhole with the ball as an eighth grader. That’s not something that’s common. Most eighth graders can’t walk and chew gum at the same time, and he was making one of the toughest throws on the field. We knew he was going to be special.”

JH: “How is Trevor’s demeanor, and how are his interactions with his teammates?”

King: I tell all these coaches and everyone who comes through he’s the real deal in whatever category you’re going to ask me about. He’s a great student. He’s a humble kid. He’s a hard worker. Obviously, he’s a phenomenal talent. Any category you pick he’s the real deal.

JH: “What kind of leader is Lawrence?”

King: “He’s good. You know, I didn’t necessarily question (his leadership) a little bit as a freshman. He was a little more timid as a freshman which most freshman would be especially thrown into a starting role, but the more he’s settled into that role of quarterback, he’s grasped the leadership component of that as well, and he encourages his teammates in the weight room, on the field and in the film room. He does a good job with all of that.”

JH: “What’s it like having this caliber of a player on your team and the distractions that come with it?”

King: “I mean I’d rather have this problem than not have this problem, so I’m gonna be careful complaining about anything. It takes a little more time here and there especially with my phone fielding calls and handling messages and all that kind of stuff, but it’s a great opportunity for everyone else to get a little exposure too. It’s a good problem to have.”

Trevor Lawrence’s high school locker will be remembered for years after he is gone. /

JH: “How do you think Trevor himself is handling all the attention?”

King: “It doesn’t bother him. That’s the thing that is the most impressive. He’s still humble; he’s still the same. He still comes to work everyday, and he doesn’t let it all get to him. I can remember he got the National Freshman of the Year awarded by MaxPreps as a freshman. I called him to tell him about the award, and he answered the phone. I started to tell him about it, and he says, ‘Hey, Coach, look I’m sorry. Can you give me a minute? I’m finishing up this xbox game and I’ll call you right back.’ And I’m like, ‘Dude, you are the National Freshman of the Year.’ and he’s like, ‘Alright, that’s great. I promise I’ll call you right back.’ So it doesn’t get to him. It doesn’t get to him. It’s about how he performs on that field with his teammates, and that’s really all he cares about right now.”

JH: “What kind of future do you think Lawrence has?”

King: “I think his ceiling is as high as the ceiling can be. Just from the intangible stuff that he has to his God-given abilities, size and speed that God’s blessed him with. It’s all about him continuing to get better, and I really believe the sky’s the limit.”

HS Coach: Sky’s the Limit for UGA Target Lawrence (Interview)

By Jay Hawkins | May 5, 2016

Trevor Lawrence is a priority for UGA as he is the top quarterback in the 2018 class.