On Sunday, the Houston Texans face Trevor Lawrence in his NFL debut when they host the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Defensive Coordinator Love Smith recalls seeing the 2021 No. 1 overall draft pick when the quarterback was still in high school and Smith was head coach at Illinois.
"Coming from the college game, I feel like I know a little bit about him," Smith said. "I know he's been a good quarterback. Matter of fact, I even remember going to his high school way back in the day, watching him work out, an offseason workout early in the morning. Pretty impressive, but everything that should have been said about him has been said. He's got all the physical ability in the world. He's been a good quarterback for a long period of time, makes all the throws, doesn't know much about losing a game."
Smith said his program didn't have "much of a chance" to land Lawrence as a recruit but was instead at looking another player at Cartersville High School in Georgia at the time. Lawrence, who led the 2019 Clemson Tigers to a national championship title, finished his career at Clemson, with a 34-2 record and 52-2 at Cartersville High School in Georgia.
Now in Jacksonville, Lawrence and Smith will meet again as AFC South rivals.
"He has excellent wide receivers around him with size, speed, good running backs," Smith said. "We understand, you know, an offensive line that's played a lot of football in the offensive line coached by George Warhop is going to be pretty good. So a big challenge for us. I mean, we're just excited about getting the season started."
Kickoff at NRG Stadium is set for Noon CT this Sunday on CBS and SportsRadio 610. For tickets, click here.
Check out some of the things that are new at NRG Stadium for the 2021 season!
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Aug. 22, 2017 event.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
An image from the Sept. 8, 2021 Houston Texans' annual "What's New?" event at NRG Stadium in Houston, TX.
