Pass. Catch. Run. Those are three of the things that can happen on any given offensive snap.Junior slot receiver Keerome Lawrence excels at all three, making him the Hoyas’ most versatile player on the gridiron. That’s not just an opinion about the junior slot receiver. It’s a statistical fact. In 2008, he tied or led the team in rushing yards, completion percentage, touchdowns and total offense, and compiled the second-highest amount of all-purpose yards on the team.So while last year he spent his time under center, this year he will be demonstrating his receiving talents as he switches from throwing to catching the pigskin. Regardless of where he is on the field, he is undoubtedly a weapon.”I see myself more as an athlete,” Lawrence said.In high school, he starred as the starting quarterback at James Hillhouse High School in New Haven, Conn., for three years. Lawrence led James Hillhouse to a 22-2 record and a state title during his junior and senior seasons, earning all-state honors his senior season.”When I was looking at Georgetown, the spread-option offense fit perfect[ly] for the type of quarterback I was,” Lawrence said, referring to his dynamic ability as a running quarterback.However, Lawrence did not have to enter his college career as a field general. An incredibly gifted athlete, he displayed exceptional ability as a defensive back as well.”When I was in high school, I went to a lot of recruiting camps at well-known schools,” Lawrence said. “At one of them, a coach from Penn State saw me work out as a defensive back. He said, `You should be playing on [the defensive] side of the ball.'”Even at MultiSport Facility, he shows flashes of the defensive player he could have been.”I’m the backup long-snapper as well, so one day during practice, I made the snap and ran downfield and tackled the [returner],” the 6-foot-1 quarterback-turned-slot receiver said. “Afterward, Coach [Rob] Sgarlata was joking with me that he might put me back on defense.”All joking aside, Lawrence didn’t initially foresee himself donning the Blue and Gray. He ran the 400 for his high school track team, and during a meet at Southern Connecticut State University, Georgetown Offensive Coordinator Jim Miceli approached him.”It kind of jumped out at me,” he said. “I mean, I don’t mean this as a bad thing, but Georgetown wasn’t really known for having a football team. A lot of other schools were recruiting me and I had a lot of other offers. But, I wanted to play quarterback and Georgetown was a great school too.”In Lawrence’s freshman year, senior Matt Bassuener was entrenched at the quarterback position, so Lawrence lined up at receiver in the five games he played, but it was not a role he particularly enjoyed.”I just wasn’t comfortable,” Lawrence said. “I didn’t set my feet right. It just wasn’t good.”After Bassauener graduated, Lawrence took over the starting spot on the depth chart. However, a rash of injuries struck the Hoyas’ starters on offense, and losses piled up as a result.”Last year, if you looked over at the sidelines, there were about 20 guys wearing red shirts,” Lawrence said. “I mean [senior tailback] Charlie [Houghton], [senior tailback] Rob Lane, guys on the offensive line – they were all injured. This year, if you look at the sideline, nobody’s wearing a red shirt.”The team’s health this year has led to a happier, more competitive Hoya team, highlighted by its 20-year-old slot receiver. Lawrence is happy about the switch that began at the end of last year and continued into this year.”It’s good,” Lawrence said. “It’s beneficial for me. And it’s better for my teammates. As a quarterback, I had a tendency to keep the ball and run. Now, my teammates get the ball more and everyone touches it more often. I like the change.”While being a quarterback allows a player to be involved in every play, lining up in the slot has its benefits too.”I mean, quarterback was a lot of fun, but there was more responsibility as a quarterback, and sometimes you would just have to react,” Lawrence said. “But I have more of a leadership role in the slot, more so than at QB. Last year, before each game, as the QB, there’s so much on your mind. I used to have a dry mouth and butterflies before games. I noticed I didn’t have that this year [before the Holy Cross game].”What makes Lawrence even more effective as a receiver for the Hoyas, though, is his experience behind the line.”I know what the QB is looking for, which helps in my role at the slot,” Lawrence said. “As a receiver, you have to know where to look, know how and who to block. The slots are also the QB’s ears out there. It’s all about communication at the slot.”This year, Lawrence adds another role to his already impressive résumé – that of a developing leader.”Yeah, I’ve noticed more senior leadership,” he said. “And the underclassmen are more willing to follow [that leadership]. So this year, the juniors are both leaders and followers.”That includes Lawrence, who is one of the more experienced receivers listed on the depth chart.”For me, as one of the older slots, its give-and-take,” he said. “As I’m teaching the younger guys, I’m still learning. But it’s going well. We’re a much closer team, we’re starting to have fun out there and we lay it all out on the line every game. That also allows the coaches to focus more on coaching. There’s no more pointing fingers after a loss, like last year, and the coaches don’t have to worry about players getting in trouble. We also know that if we don’t perform well, the coaches get penalized.”Of course, it’s easy to have a fun-loving team if you have a character like Lawrence on your roster. His personality brings a certain looseness to the locker room.”We as a team decided to play music in the locker room this year,” he said. “In the past, some guys prepare for games in different ways. But you can’t have just dead silence – it’ll feel like a funeral. You’ll go out onto the field flat. So we’ve had some rock ‘n’ roll, some rap, some techno.”As for end zone celebrations, it is not surprising that Lawrence has some Chad Ochocinco in him.”The worm. I can do the worm,” he asserted. “Last year, I told [Head] Coach [Kevin] Kelly that if we put enough points up on the board, I would do the worm. He just started laughing. But I guarantee it. By the end of this year, one of these Saturdays, you’ll see the worm.”Although he will be lining up at a different position this season, Lawrence is the same fun-loving freshman that walked onto campus two years ago. And while he has been a part of only three victories in his career, his confidence in himself has never wavered.”Once [the ball] gets out of [the quarterback’s] hands and comes to me, look out,” he said.Pass. Catch. Run. It’s all the same to Lawrence.”