As a recruit, Trevor Lawrence loved the University of Georgia. But of course, the former five-star quarterback prospect from the Peach State ultimately decided to leave his home state and play his college ball at Clemson.

Lawrence committed to Clemson on Dec. 15, 2016, as a junior at Cartersville (Ga.) High School. But why specifically did the nation’s No. 1 recruit in the 2018 class want to suit up for Dabo Swinney and the Tigers?

Lawrence reflected on his college decision during an episode of The Journey with former Clemson teammate Darien Rencher, explaining why he chose the Tigers over the Bulldogs during the recruiting process.

“Just the people. That’s what everybody says, but it really is true,” Lawrence said. “I was not a very mature junior and senior in high school. I think I committed in my junior year. My parents, Coach Swinney, like a mixture of everything, Marissa, just kind of everything had its own hand in steering me in that direction. And then myself, like obviously I ended up coming to that conclusion. I made that decision. That’s what I wanted to do. I was looking at Clemson and Georgia, and I really did love Georgia.

“I wasn’t a Georgia fan, but I grew up in Georgia. It’s close to home. They recruited me super hard, them and Clemson. Those were like my top two, and I loved Georgia, loved the campus. Obviously, what they’re doing with the program, you see what it is now. I could kind of see it coming and what they were building. But just something about the people was infectious at Clemson.”

Lawrence added that he felt more connected to the people at Clemson than he did with those at UGA.

“They care about you as a person more than a player,” Lawrence said. “Obviously at the end of the day, you’re gonna kind of make your own path, but they really do care about you. I think I saw that, especially at the end. Not to say that Georgia coaches didn’t, because they’ve obviously done a great job, but I just felt that connection more with the people at Clemson.”

Lawrence’s relationship with Swinney and the staff that was around him played a big role in Lawrence choosing Swinney’s program.

“Coach Swinney is super genuine,” Lawrence said. “I think when you sit down and talk with him, you can feel that he’s definitely – people have their own opinions, but (people) that’s played for him, everyone can attest to how genuine of a person he is and he really does care about you. I think that came through immediately to myself, to my family, the way he treated us. …

“It’s a culture and he’s put people around him and around the players that do things the right way that treat people right. And like Coach (Brandon) Streeter, you know, Coach (Tony) Elliott when he was there. There’s so many other people, but those are the two main ones in my career, and they’re the same way – like they’re genuine, they want to help you.”

It’s safe to say Lawrence made a good decision. After winning a national title at Clemson as a true freshman in 2018, he eventually went on to become the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and is now coming off a Pro Bowl season with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2022, his second year in the league.