ATHENS – Trevor Etienne is from Jennings, Louisiana, but Saturday in Jacksonville will represent for him a homecoming of sorts.
Georgia’s starting running back will be facing his former team for the first time when the No. 2 Bulldogs (6-1, 4-1 SEC) meet Florida (4-3, 2-2) in the annual neutral-site clash at EverBank Stadium (3:30 p.m., ABC). Etienne spent his first two seasons with the Gators before transferring to UGA last January.
If he’s feeling odd about that, it wasn’t evident when Etienne was asked about facing his former team following the Bulldogs’ win over Texas.
“Man, I’m excited about it,” Etienne told reporters after the 30-15 victory in Austin on Oct. 19. “I get to see some former teammates. I’ve got nothing but love for those guys.”
Etienne was a big part of Florida’s plan in its last two matchups against the Bulldogs in Jacksonville. He was the Gators’ leading rusher in 2022 with 53 yards on 11 carries and a touchdown. Last year, Etienne finished second among Florida rushers with 42 yards on seven carries. Georgia pulled away in both games, winning 42-20 in 2022 and 43-20 last year.
Etienne shared carries in those contests with running back Montrell Johnson. Johnson had a 48-yard run and led the Gators with 82 yards on nine carries last year. In ‘22, he had 26 yards on 11 attempts.
Now a 5-foot-11, 214-pound senior, Johnson followed coach Billy Napier from Louisiana to Florida in 2021. He and Etienne (5-9, 209) are similar both physically and in running styles. From a production standpoint, they’re also nearly identical.
A year behind Johnson, Etienne has played fewer games (45 to 30) and has about 1,000 fewer career rushing yards (2,869 to 1,894). But a breakdown by carries and games is even more revealing. Etienne has averaged 5.7 yards per carry and 63.13 yards per game; Johnson’s numbers are 5.3 and 63.75.
At the time of his transfer, reports out of Florida claimed Etienne’s departure was due to having to share carries with Johnson. But when he has been asked leaving Florida to come to Georgia, Etienne never has mentioned touches.
“What they’ve done in the past, there’s not many programs like it,” Etienne said of Georgia in September. “The ‘G’ speaks for itself.”
Etienne leaving Florida certainly didn’t sit well with Johnson, not at first anyway.
“It was like an outrage, kind of,” Johnson said at SEC Football Media Days in Dallas this summer. “But, at the same time, he’s our friend and we knew he was trying to make the best decision for himself. So, we weren’t really mad about it.”
The truth is, there’s not any bad blood between Etienne or his former Florida teammates.
“We talk more than often,” Etienne said after the Texas game. “So, I just can’t wait to get out there and compete against my friends, my brothers.”
If the past six games are any indication, Etienne will be an integral part of Georgia’s game plan this time around. Since having to sit out the opener against Clemson due to a disciplinary suspension, the Bulldogs increasingly have integrated Etienne into offense. That culminated with 89 yards rushing, 112 total yards and three touchdowns on 22 touches as Georgia knocked off the No. 1 Longhorns.
At the midway point of the season, Etienne leads the Bulldogs with 422 yards and seven TDs on 82 carries, which ranks seventh in the SEC. Johnson leads the Gators with 373 yards and four TDs on 70 carries.
Ironically, Georgia didn’t plan for Etienne to be carrying such a heavy load when he arrived last January. Sophomore Roderick Robinson was the RB1 when the Bulldogs opened camp in August, and they were hopeful that redshirt sophomore Branson Robinson would be recovered enough from a major knee injury in 2023 to be able to contribute.
As it turned out, the Bulldogs lost “Rod-Rob” to a toe injury in preseason camp and he has not played to date. And while “B-Rob” was recovered well enough get 25 carries in six games before an MCL injury against Mississippi State on Oct.12 sent him back to the sideline.
That has left Etienne to share carries with true freshman Nate Frazier (41-204-1) and former walk-on Cash Jones (4-18-1), who also have nine receptions between them. Etienne also leads Georgia’s backs with 20 pass receptions for 130 yards.
Etienne did some good work for the Gators while splitting time with Johnson. He had 1,472 yards and 14 touchdowns while averaging just under six yards a carry. That was not far behind Johnson’s 1,658 yards on 58 fewer carries.
It’s hard to imagine where Georgia would be without Etienne at this point in the season. Coach Kirby Smart gushes about the junior every time he’s been asked about him.
“I mean, he has been a bright spot, especially off the field, like energy, enthusiasm, leadership,” Smart said this past week. “He cares about those linemen. He does things for them that are just, we haven’t had guys run here do that. And he was big the other night for us. He made some really big cuts and runs and exploded through the line. It gave us a weapon that we needed.”
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