Former Clemson star Trevor Lawrence’s leadership has clearly impressed his new Jacksonville Jaguars head coach, Liam Coen, and his new teammate, wide receiver/defensive back Travis Hunter.

Hunter and Coen each joined the Up & Adams show with host Kay Adams at Jaguars training camp in Jacksonville, Fla., on Thursday.

Both Coen and Hunter raved about Lawrence’s leadership – something that might not necessarily show up about the franchise quarterback on film.

“Trevor is a fun guy. He’s jolly and he pushes the guys. He’s a great leader,” Hunter said. “So, that’s one thing that a lot of people probably misunderstand about him. But he’s a great leader, and he knows how to control the offense and he understands what the coaches want from him.”

Hunter, the No. 2 overall pick in this year’s draft, said he and Lawrence, the 2021 No. 1 overall pick, have been putting in extra work to hammer down their timing and rapport on the field. 

“Just a lot of timing things, just getting ready for the first preseason game, and just making sure our connection is what we want to display on gameday,” Hunter said.

Coen, who is entering his first season as the Jaguars’ head coach following a highly successful stint as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ offensive coordinator in 2024, spoke glowingly about Lawrence when discussing his leadership style.

“Trevor is his own person,” Coen said. “He’s very much cerebral in terms of the way he communicates with everybody. He doesn’t change his stripes based on who he’s interacting with, and because he is just innately such a good guy and a good person, he has the ability to pull people aside in his own way and just be honest with them.

“And that kind of hits home, I think, for a lot of players – where maybe he’s not rah-rah, jumping up and down and getting guys maybe fired up – he can pull them aside and just maybe have a quick conversation that hits home. He has a great way, and he’s led in terms of the operation, the cans, the alignment, the assignment, the motions. So, that right there is him leading without saying a word, just by going and doing his job at a high level. That’s been pretty cool to see.”

Coen said Lawrence took a group of teammates on a bonding experience to the Bahamas this summer in order to build chemistry and camaraderie, as well as get some extra work in before training camp.

“Trevor took really all of our skill players to the Bahamas. He paid for it all and took care of it, where they went for I think a long weekend and worked out every day, got some throwing sessions in,” Coen said. “And then also hung out as guys and just got away a little bit, got together. I thought that was a great moment for him to be able to go do that with those guys and get to know them, right. Because he’s had a little bit more consistency at these skill positions with [former Jaguars WR] Christian Kirk and [former Jags TE] Evan Engram being here for a while. He’s got to get to know these guys on a personal level, to serve before he can go lead them, and I think he’s done a nice job of that.”

Coen shared Thursday that the Jaguars plan to play Lawrence and other starters in the team’s preseason opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday.

Lawrence is entering his fifth NFL season in 2025. Over his first four seasons, he has completed 63.3 percent of his passes for 13,815 yards and 69 touchdowns with 46 interceptions. The Jaguars signed Lawrence to a five-year, $275 million contract extension prior to the 2024 campaign.

–Photo courtesy of Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union