Urban Meyer didn’t know Gardner Minshew. The first-year Jaguars coach knows Minshew now, and Meyer likes what he sees.
“I didn’t know Minshew,” Meyer told reporters on Thursday. “I knew his [Washington State] coach very well, Mike Leach. I don’t say we got off to a bad start, but I just didn’t see very much of him. But he’s earned my respect. I love that guy. He’s a warrior competitor, he’s a fighter. I told him that. I just have great respect for Minshew. He brings it every day now, every day.”
It’s been presumed from the moment Meyer took the job with the team that held the rights to Trevor Lawrence that Minshew would be benched at best, traded at worst. Now, Minshew and Lawrence have the shared title of starter, and Meyer says the competition between them remains open.
Minshew, despite the team’s struggles, has played well in his first two seasons, with 37 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions. He has a career passer rating of 93.1, and his completion percentage jumped from 60.6 percent as a rookie to 66.1 percent in 2020.
Minshew also is driven, and loquacious. He said in July that he hasn’t “taken a shit in weeks” because “No. 2 is not an option.” More recently, he cited the Hernán Cortés “burn the boats” line as the mindset for pursuing the starting job.
There’s a chance that Meyer’s infatuation with Minshew is aimed at maximizing trade value. For whatever reason, no one has made a run at Minshew. Maybe someone should. Maybe, based on how he does in the preseason, someone will.
Maybe it’s not bullcrap. Maybe Meyer will apply a meritocracy uninfluenced by draft status or preconceived notions. Maybe Meyer will go with the guy who’s currently the best player to help the team win games. Maybes that’s Minshew.
Hell, maybe it will be a close call and Minshew and Lawrence eventually will be blocking each other on Winners and Losers day to settle it.
