Trevor Etienne on transfer: 'RB2 on a losing team or go somewhere and possibly be RB1 and win a natty'

For the first time since transferring to Georgia, Trevor Etienne has addressed the reason for his decision. He starred at Florida for the last two years before entering the transfer portal and ultimately choosing to play with the Bulldogs.

Etienne joined Tate Ratledge on Real Talk to talk about why he decided to leave UF and take his talents to UGA. He ran for more than 1,400 yards in Gainesville, but he decided he wanted to go somewhere to compete for a national championship.

Etienne also finished behind Montrell Johnson in rushing yards both of his years at Florida, and he saw an opportunity with Georgia to become the top running back on the depth chart.

“For me, it was like, does the good outweigh the bad?” Etienne said. “I’ve been with Florida for two years. I went through that whole process of rebuilding, it’s kind of still rebuilding. I felt like there was a lot of uncertainty, so like, a lot of questions were unanswered. There’s a lot of unknown going on. I felt like, I can stay here and do what I’ve been doing for another year or two, or bet on myself and take a chance somewhere else.

“Pretty much to sum it up, it was like, I can either be Running Back 2 on a losing team, or go somewhere – I wanted to play in December, too. That also played a big part in me transferring. So I said, I can stay Running Back 2 on a losing team or go somewhere and possibly be Running Back 1 and win a natty.”

Etienne was one of the biggest pickups for Georgia this offseason, bolstering a running game that is preparing to lose Daijun Edwards and Kendall Milton to the 2024 NFL Draft. Those two combined for 1,670 rushing yards and 27 touchdowns a season ago, meaning the Bulldogs had to find a way to replace that production.

Last season, Etienne had a career-high 753 yards and eight touchdowns to serve as a key piece of the Florida running game. After entering the transfer portal, he came in as the No. 19 overall player in the On3 Industry Transfer Rankings.

As for what he brings to the Bulldogs, DawgsHQ’s Jake Rowe told Andy Staples his skillset will translate well with Milton and Edwards moving on.

“Georgia got a high level of play out of Daijun Edwards and Kendall Milton this past year. I wouldn’t take a single thing away from those guys,” Rowe said on Andy Staples On3. “Kendall Milton, actually towards the end of the year when he got healthy, looked like one of the better Georgia running backs in the past, like, five or six years. I mean, he looked really good.

“But Trevor Etienne brings kind of a Kenny McIntosh, Sony Michel, somewhere between those two elements of the offense – D’Andre Swift, even. As far as his pass-catching and ability to get it to him quick, see what he can do with the ball, I do think he can he can help Georgia with more explosives, both in the run and the pass game.”