ATHENS – Everybody keeps asking Georgia football coach Kirby Smart whether running back Trevor Etienne will be available to play in Saturday’s season-opener against Clemson. The fact is, it’s not up to Smart.
While he is state’s most visible and highly-compensated employee and the spokesperson for UGA’s football program, Smart doesn’t dictate disciplinary action when it comes violations of the athletic department’s conduct code. Etienne, a high-profile transfer from Florida, violated Georgia’s alcohol and drug policy when he was arrested last March.
However, indications are those guidelines would allow to Etienne to play Saturday when the No. 1-ranked Bulldogs face No. 14 Clemson in the highly-anticipated Aflac Kickoff Game at Mercedes-Benz Stadium (noon, ABC). But, again, Smart’s not saying.
“I don’t really talk about any of the other stuff in regard to any of our players with suspensions,” Smart said at his weekly news conference on Monday.
Etienne was charged with DUI, reckless driving and two other traffic misdemeanors when was he was pulled over by Athens-Clarke County Police on March 24. He was 19 years old at the time.
The DUI charge against Etienne, who is now 20, was dismissed when he went to court last month. However, he pleaded guilty to underage possession of alcohol and no contest to reckless driving.
According to UGA Athletics’ Code of Conduct, which is available for download on the school website, the possession charge while operating a vehicle stands as a Level II violation of the Bulldogs’ student-athlete regulations regarding alcohol use. But, while that requires six months probation and completion of the athletic department’s “Alcohol and Other Drug” (AOD) education program, it does not include a mandated suspension from competition. A DUI conviction would have.
Based on those criteria, Etienne should be available to play. Where it gets murky is Smart ultimately controls playing time for all the Bulldogs’ players. But Georgia’s ninth-year coach has been nothing but complimentary regarding Etienne in the months since his arrest. He recently lauded the junior’s work ethic and leadership among the running backs.
“Trevor is the leader of that room,” Smart said. “He understands things and does and really good job of setting the tempo and standard.”
Curtis Compton
Curtis Compton
From a purely competitive standpoint, the Bulldogs certainly could use Etienne against Clemson. Georgia is thinner than accustomed when it comes available running backs to face the Tigers’ stout defense. Projected starter Roderick Robinson II is out for Saturday and possibly longer after undergoing surgery last week to repair a toe injury. And while fellow sophomore Branson Robinson is back to playing full speed, he remains just a year removed from a ruptured patella tendon injury suffered in the final week of preseason practice last August.
It Etienne didn’t play, that would leave the Bulldogs with Branson Robinson, walkon Cash Jones and freshmen Nate Frazier, Chauncey Bowens and Dwight Phillips to carry load against Clemson. Jones is experienced with 38 career touches in 27 games, but the rest of the group is not.
“Any time you go into the new season you’re like, ‘What do I have?’ and you don’t really know,” Smart said Monday. “That’s why it’s so critical in spring to go out and play our spring game like it’s a game, because it’s the first version of your new self. ... You try to figure out the best version of yourself in those scrimmages because those are preseason games in the NFL terms. I feel really comfortable with where our backfield is.”
Frazier created the most buzz among Georgia’s new backs in preseason camp. But 247Sports’ No. 2-rated running back prospect did not arrive at UGA from California until early summer. His ability to react to checks and real-time adjustments like picking up stunts and blitzes is largely unknown.
What’s known is the Bulldogs would be better with Etienne in the fold. The 5-foot-9, 205-pound junior from Jennings, Louisiana, rushed for 1,472 yards and 14 touchdowns while gaining another 238 yards and a score catching the football for the Gators the last two seasons at Florida.
Senior quarterback Carson Beck expressed confidence Monday in the Bulldogs’ ability to run the football, especially with Branson Robinson back in the fold.
“I think our running back room is really deep,” Beck said. “One guy that you know missed last year, Branson, he’s someone that you go back to his freshman year, two touchdowns in the national championship game in 2023. I mean, just a crazy, athletic guy that you can comfortably hand the ball to him. He’s going to make plays.”
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