Jacksonville Jaguars offensive coordinator Grant Udinski has learned a lot about the quarterback position during his quick rise in the NFL.
The last three years with the Minnesota Vikings and Kevin O'Connell have shown Udinski the ups and downs that come with the position, preparing him to take his next step. Now, that step is putting him on course to be one of the most important pieces of the Jaguars' plans to get the most out of franchise quarterback Trevor Lawrence.
"Yeah, I'm beyond fired up to work with Trevor. Like I said about Liam, probably the same thing with Trevor, I don't have enough words to explain how excited I am for the opportunity to work with him," Udinski said on Thursday.
"The relationship side of it is something that takes time, not just me getting to know him, but him getting to know me. This is a collaborative process. There are no dictatorships or anything like that in this business or on our team, just like we're collaborative as a staff or collaborative with our players. So ultimately, if the players come first, 'players over plays,' like Liam's probably told you guys a number of times. And if that's true, then we have to be willing to go above and beyond and do whatever it takes to put them in the best position for success, and part of that is committing the time and effort and resources to forming those relationships."
Udinski and head coach Liam Coen are getting a specimen in Lawrence, but also a quarterback who is still ironing out the youthful inconsistencies that have surrounded his first four seasons.
Lawrence at times has played like an MVP-caliber player, and at other times has been the deciding factor in losses. But at the end of the day, he has shown the goods on and off the field to prove he is a true franchise quarterback who just needs a little help to get over the hump.
"There's a lot that stands out. Once again, that the physical talent you can see, and you guys probably have had more time watching it than even me over the course of the past couple of years," Udinski said.
"The most exciting thing for me is the guy and the person as I've started to form this relationship, because like I said, the quarterback position is still played by a person. It's still a human being back there who's got to stand back there and navigate tight pockets and hits and escape and deal with ten other guys in the huddle, all eleven on defense, and make those decisions in snap judgment. So, the person that we're getting to deal with and work with on a day-to-day basis is super exciting for me because, listen, if we're up here spending as much time as we do trying to pour ourselves into somebody, he's the type of guy that you want to invest time in."
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