Trevor Lawrence on Urban Meyer: 'He's Still My Head Coach. I Still Respect Him'

The rookie quarterback supported his head coach in public on Wednesday, offering words of encouragement for the first-year coach following his controversial weekend in Ohio.

The Jacksonville Jaguars circled the wagon around their head coach on Wednesday afternoon, with rookie quarterback and No. 1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence offering the largest message of support for Urban Meyer yet following his controversial conduct at an Ohio bar last weekend.

"At the end of the day, I can speak for myself for sure, and I know most of the team feels this way, he’s still my head coach. I still respect him regardless of what happens," Lawrence said. "Like I said, we’re a team and we’re figuring it out, so we’re all good. We had a great day of practice today and we’re all still working.”

Meyer apologized to the Jaguars as a team for the first time on Wednesday after addressing the Jaguars in smaller groups on Monday. 

The embattled head coach stated on Wednesday that he did not give consideration to resigning from following the viral videos and photos that showed Meyer with a younger woman who was not his wife at a bar in Columbus in the days following the Jaguars' 24-21 loss in Cincinnati, though he has acknowledged that he has to earn back the trust of his locker room. 

“I think that was great. I know a lot of the guys respected it, how he addressed us this morning. Most of us have had separate conversations, individual one-on-one conversations with him and I think he’s handled it well to this point," Lawrence said. 

"Obviously, it’s not an easy situation and you don’t want to be in the situation, but I think he’s done right by us. It was a good meeting this morning. [He] was just upfront with us, apologized. We are a team and we are sticking together. Just because something happens that puts a little stress on it, that doesn’t mean you just give up and you go your separate ways. You figure it out and you work through it, so that’s what we’re doing. I feel good about our team. Nothing’s changed. We’re still really tight, so we’re just looking forward to playing the Titans this weekend and getting back on track.”

One of the biggest points of discussion from Meyer's initial public apology was the fact that Meyer involved Lawrence unprompted. Meyer referenced Lawrence's bachelor party in Vegas during the offseason (before he was drafted) and how he warned him to be careful. 

"I’ve always been so defensive of them. I remember when Trevor [Lawrence] told me he was going to go to Vegas for his bachelor party. I was like, ‘Oh gosh man, be careful and surround yourself’ because I’ve seen this happen," Meyer said on Monday.

On Wednesday, Lawrence got a chance to address Meyer bringing the rookie quarterback into his own apology, with the No. 1 overall pick saying he understood what Meyer's true intentions were with the comment. 

“I didn’t really have a reaction. I mean, it is what it is. I think his intentions were to say he always encourages his players to be smart and handle things a certain way, which I did on that trip. Everything was smooth," Lawrence said. 

"I don’t have any reason to feel any type of way on my side, so it’s all good. I think that’s what he was getting at. But obviously, it’s a tough situation right now, so I think he was just talking through some of the stuff. It came up, but I’m not worried about it.”

Meyer stated on Wednesday that he has talked through the entire situation with Lawrence, who in April became the first-ever No. 1 overall pick in franchise history. Lawrence is considered the entire hope of the franchise moving forward, making his relationship with Meyer key moving forward.

The rookie quarterback and Meyer have each learned new losing ways in 2021, with the perennial winners each facing 0-4 for the first time in their football careers. But despite the losses and the current distraction that Meyer has caused, Meyer is confident in his and Lawrence's partnership moving forward -- in large part because of who Lawrence is. 

"Trevor and I have a great relationship and he was great. We talked it through," Meyer said.

"Yeah, I mean, he’s a very unique—you guys probably know him a little bit, I know him very well. He’s one of the most unique people I’ve ever met," Meyer said. 

"I heard that about him from his coach when we were discussing it, I studied him before we drafted him, and he is a—it’s so refreshing being around a guy like that. His focus and his resolve is tremendous.”