Trevor Lawrence

Early life

William Trevor Lawrence was born in Knoxville, Tennessee on October 6, 1999, and moved to Cartersville, Georgia when he was six. He later attended Cartersville High School, where he played football and basketball. As a junior in 2016, Lawrence was The Atlanta Journal-Constitution player of the year after completing 250 of 406 passes for 3,904 yards and 51 touchdowns. As a freshman, Lawrence had 3,042 yards and 26 touchdowns, and as a sophomore, he passed for 3,655 yards and 43 touchdowns.

From his sophomore year to his senior year, Lawrence led the Purple Hurricanes to 41 straight victories, winning two state championships and four region titles while also receiving numerous national high school player of the year honors. In 2017, Lawrence broke the Georgia state record for passing yards and passing touchdowns, which were previously held by Deshaun Watson of Gainesville, who also played for Clemson.

Lawrence was a five-star recruit who was regarded as one of the best high school quarterback prospects of all time. On December 16, 2016, he committed to Clemson University to play college football.

Freshman year

Lawrence started his freshman season behind Kelly Bryant on Clemson's depth chart, but was given equal playing time in the season's first games. Head coach Dabo Swinney named Lawrence the new starter after four games, after which Bryant announced his intention to transfer schools. Lawrence led Clemson to an undefeated regular season, a 42–10 victory over Pittsburgh in the ACC Championship Game, and a bid to play in the College Football Playoff. The Tigers were ranked No. 2 in the College Football Playoff rankings, and defeated No. 3 Notre Dame, 30–3, in the 2018 Cotton Bowl Classic. They advanced to the 2019 College Football Playoff National Championship game, where they defeated Alabama, 44–16, handing the Crimson Tide their worst loss of the Nick Saban era. Lawrence was named Offensive MVP of the game and became the first true freshman quarterback to start for a national champion since Jamelle Holieway in 1985 for Oklahoma.

Lawrence threw for 3,280 passing yards and 30 touchdowns on the season, and was awarded the National Freshman of the Year and Archie Griffin Award by the Touchdown Club of Columbus. He was also awarded ACC Rookie of the Year honors.

Sophomore year

Returning for his sophomore year with the Tigers, Lawrence was named preseason ACC Player of the Year and was considered a leading candidate for the Heisman Trophy. Relatively inconsistent play in the early part of the season all but lost Lawrence the Heisman Trophy race, but he led FBS in passer rating over the final half of the regular season and ended seventh in Heisman Trophy voting. Lawrence helped lead Clemson to an undefeated regular season and an ACC Championship Game victory over Virginia, which gave them the No. 3 ranking in the final College Football Playoff rankings. In the 2019 Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State, he had 259 passing yards and two touchdowns to go along with 16 rushes for 107 yards and a touchdown in the 29–23 victory that brought them to the national championship game for the second consecutive year. Lawrence lost the first game of his career in the CFP Championship Game against LSU, as Clemson snapped its 29-game winning streak and lost 42–25. Lawrence posted the worst passer rating of his career as he only completed 18 of 37 passes for 234 yards in the game.

Junior year

Lawrence returned for his junior season with the Tigers. In his first six games of the season, Lawrence threw for 1,833 passing yards with 17 touchdowns and two interceptions. On October 30, 2020, Lawrence tested positive for COVID-19, which resulted in a 10-day quarantine, per ACC protocols. As a result, he missed two games before returning. Clemson lost one of those two games, to Notre Dame. After Lawrence returned to the team, he helped guide the Tigers back to the ACC Championship Game by finishing in second in the division-less format adopted for the 2020 season. They defeated Notre Dame in the rematch in the conference title game with Lawrence starting at quarterback and were selected to a spot in the College Football Playoff. In the CFP semifinal, the Sugar Bowl, Lawrence and the Tigers lost to Ohio State.

Lawrence finished his final season with the Tigers 231-of-334 for 3,153 passing yards with 24 touchdowns and five interceptions. He was named ACC Player of the Year, and finished in second in voting for the Heisman Trophy behind Alabama wide receiver DeVonta Smith. After the season, Lawrence would be the men's recipient of the ACC Athlete of the Year award across all conference sports, sharing honors with women's recipient Charlotte North of Boston College lacrosse.

Personal life

Lawrence is Baptist. He is noted for his long blond hair. Lawrence's older brother, Chase, is a visual artist for whom Trevor has posed. On April 10, 2021, Lawrence married Marissa Mowry, whom he had been dating since high school. In June 2024, they announced they were expecting their first child. Their daughter, Shae Lynn, was born on January 4, 2025.

In 2021, Lawrence, among other high-profile athletes and celebrities, was a paid spokesperson for FTX, a cryptocurrency exchange. In November 2022, FTX filed for bankruptcy, wiping out billions of dollars in customer funds. Lawrence, alongside other spokespeople, was sued for promoting unregistered securities through a class-action lawsuit, which was settled in September 2023.

American Eagle featured Lawrence in its "Live Your Life" marketing campaign in 2024.