Lawrence, Etienne Thrilled with Pairing in Jacksonville

Former Clemson Tigers stars and first-round draft picks Travis Etienne and Trevor Lawrence beginning their NFL journey together with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Jacksonville Jaguars fans are as excited about their new star pairing, but not nearly as much as the former Clemson teammates themselves.

Former Tiger quarterback Trevor Lawrence was selected with the No. 1 overall pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars. A few hours later, his running back, Travis Etienne, joined him. 

"You'd be crazy not to want to play with Trevor Lawrence," Etienne said. "I feel like it provides you with a sense of normalcy, having Trevor here, just being with him for the past three years. But I feel as if, with or without Trev, I would be making plays. That's kind of what we're here to do. I'm just thankful that I have Trev. We're on the same team, and we don't have to fight against each other."

The duo became the first Clemson and NFL first-round pairing in history last night, and while the new Jaguars' stars can't wait to get to work, Lawrence was still surprised to hear his teammate's name called at pick No. 25 Thursday night.

"Yeah, I was honestly not expecting it at all," Lawrence said. "I had no idea that we were going to take him, and then I got a text right before it went on TV. 'We're taking Travis.' I was like, I didn't even know we're gonna take a running back. It was awesome. So, like I said, it just makes it special. I got someone to come with me from Clemson, and it's just awesome."

The No. 1 overall pick remembered a particular instance of Etienne's ability against his new head coach Urban Meyer. While reminiscing about their Tiger days will happen now and again, both Lawrence and Etienne know it's time to get to work and show why they were chosen to lead a franchise starting with a blank slate.

"There's a lot (of memories)," Lawrence said. "Obviously played together for three years, there's a whole lot of memories, and he made a ton of plays. I hate to say it in front of Coach (Meyer), but he had two plays against Ohio State (in 2019 Fiesta Bowl) that are pretty special.

"Had a little dump pass to him and then threw a screen that went for like 50 yards. He's special, not only as a player, but as a person, so I'm just really glad I get to have a former teammate come along with me on this new journey."

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