Trevor Lawrence, the presumptive No. 1 NFL Draft pick, took to Twitter on Saturday to address criticism over remarks he made in a recent Sports Illustrated interview where he said he doesn’t need football “for my life to be O.K.”
Lawrence spoke with the outlet for an article published Wednesday where he discussed his future in the NFL and how he doesn’t feel he has anything to prove.
“It’s not like I need this for my life to be O.K.,” the 21-year-old quarterback said. “I want to do it because I want to be the best I can be. I want to maximize my potential. Who wouldn’t want to? You kind of waste it if you don’t.”
“It’s hard to explain that because I want people to know that I’m passionate about what I do and it’s really important to me, but . . . I don’t have this huge chip on my shoulder, that everyone’s out to get me and I’m trying to prove everybody wrong,” he added. “I just don’t have that. I can’t manufacture that. I don’t want to.”
His wife Marissa, who joined him in the interview, added: “There’s also more in life than playing football,” to which Lawrence agreed.
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“And I think people mistake that for being a competitor. . . . I think that’s unhealthy to a certain extent, just always thinking that you’ve got to prove somebody wrong, you’ve got to do more, you’ve got to be better.”
The comments stirred up enough people that Lawrence took to social media days later to set the record straight.
“It seems as if people are misreading my sentiment,” he said in a series of tweets. “I am internally motivated – I love football as much or more than anyone. It is a HUGE priority in my life, obviously. I am driven to be the best I can be, and to maximize my potential. And to WIN.”
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He continued: “I have a lot of confidence in my work ethic, I love to grind and to chase my goals. You can ask anyone who has been in my life. That being said, I am secure in who I am, and what I believe. I don’t need football to make me feel worthy as a person. I purely love the game and everything that comes with it. The work, the team, the ups and downs. I am a firm believer in the fact that there is a plan for my life and I’m called to be the best I can be at whatever I am doing.”
The former Clemson quarterback who is expected to suit up for the Jacksonville Jaguars next season ended the conversation with: “Thanks for coming to my TedTalk lol.”