WATCH: Trevor Etienne breaks an 85-yard touchdown run against South Carolina

Florida is off and running against South Carolina. Literally. Freshman running back Trevor Etienne busted an 85-yard touchdown run after the Gators nearly turned it over on a fumble during a punt return, helping extend UF’s lead over USC in the first quarter to 21-0.

Etienne broke through the right side of the line through the A gap, then raced to the second level where he found nothing but open grass.

Just like that, Florida led 21-0 and had outgained South Carolina 219 yards to 10 through the first 13 minutes of the game.

8️⃣5️⃣ YARD RUN. @Trevor_Etienne takes it to the house.

📺 @SECNetwork pic.twitter.com/VfEWNeuK1b

— Florida Gators Football (@GatorsFB) November 12, 2022

The terrific first quarter for Florida continues a recent trend following a 41-24 win over Texas A&M a week ago. The Gators have really gotten their ground game cooking the last few weeks, led by the likes of Etienne and sophomore Montrell Johnson, a Louisiana transfer.

Johnson has already run six times for 40 yards against South Carolina.

The duo has been electric of late, and Trevor Etienne looks like a star in the making for the Gators. He is the younger brother of former Clemson star Travis Etienne.

On the season Etienne had logged 81 carries for 467 yards and four touchdowns. He had also added seven catches for 31 yards.

Shane Beamer impressed by Billy Napier

South Carolina coach Shane Beamer went into Saturday’s contest having a lot of respect for Florida coach Billy Napier.

And after the way the game started he’ll probably have a bit more.

“Impressed. I mean, a lot of those guys when I first got to South Carolina, Dabo [Swinney] was an assistant coach at Clemson,” Beamer said. “And then, he got the job and Jeff Scott, I guess, replaced Dabo as an on-field coach. Then, Billy came in.”

“I guess my last year at Carolina was 2010. I think Billy was the coordinator that year if I’m not mistaken. So, somebody that I got a lot of respect for. He did a good job when he was at Clemson and then since he left Clemson, the stops he’s had and the success that he’s had as a coach and a recruiter.

“I mean, somebody that we certainly had respect for when I was here as an assistant coach, and then what he’s done since he left Clemson is really, really impressive, also, and did a great job at Louisiana as a head coach there, and is certainly on track to doing good things in Gainesville also.”