Now entering his fifth NFL season, former Clemson star Trevor Lawrence is working with his third different head coach and play-caller, Liam Coen.

Coen, regarded as an excellent offensive mind and guru, is tasked with maximizing Lawrence’s talent and potential as the Jacksonville Jaguars’ franchise quarterback – similar to how Coen helped Baker Mayfield thrive last season.

In 2024, Mayfield had a career year in Tampa Bay under Coen, the former Buccaneers offensive coordinator who ultimately took the Jaguars’ head coaching job in late January.

Lawrence met with the media this week and said he’s talked with Mayfield a few times, and those conversations gave him “a lot of confidence” in Coen’s new Jaguars offense.

“I’ve heard great things from other people as well, whether it’s about Liam and the system or whatever. But hearing [Mayfield’s] experience and obviously what they were able to do last year as an offense was super impressive,” Lawrence said.

“Especially as an individual, Baker played really well. So just talking to him, and he’s told me how much I’m going to love the offense, how much it’s going to help me and help our offense really go to the next level.”

Under Coen last season, Mayfield recorded career highs in passing yards (4,500), touchdowns (41) and completion percentage (71.4). Coen’s Buccaneers offense ranked third in the NFL in total yards per game (399.5) and fourth in points per game (29.5).

Lawrence hopes to enjoy similar success with Coen and the Jaguars offense this season.

“He’s been a huge help for me and has given me a lot of confidence,” Lawrence said of Mayfield.

Since being drafted out of Clemson with the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft, Lawrence has completed 63.3 percent of his passes for 13,815 yards and 69 touchdowns with 46 interceptions over 60 games from 2021-24. The Jaguars signed Lawrence to a massive five-year, $275 million contract extension (including $142 million fully guaranteed) prior to the 2024 season.

Lawrence has had his ups and downs over the start of his NFL career with the Jaguars, and he’s looking to bounce back after an injury-plagued and statistically underwhelming 2024 campaign, when he completed 60.6 percent of his passes for 2,045 yards with 11 touchdown passes and seven interceptions in 10 games before being placed on injured reserve in early December after his shoulder injury and concussion.

Lawrence and the Jags kick off the 2025 season at home against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, and Coen says Lawrence was “extremely locked in” and focused this week ahead of the opener.

“He did a ton of extra work on his own this week,” Coen said Friday. “He’s been studying the crap out of the plays so he can spit them out as quickly as possible. I thought he’s had a really nice week of preparation. I thought he had a really nice day throwing the ball today as well. You could just see some of the confidence and zip, and feeling more and more comfortable with the plan. Hopefully we can get him off to a good start, get the ball spitting out of his hands, keep it moving and get those guys some touches early.”

–Photo courtesy of Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images