Trevor Etienne injury update: Kirby Smart updates Georgia RB status

As Georgia went into the half trailing, 6-3, to Kentucky, Kirby Smart shared a health update on a key piece, running back Trevor Etienne, who was reported to be dealing with a shoulder injury in the first half.

While an initial report said Etienne was done for the day, Smart said that might not be true. He shared some more on Etienne with ESPN sideline reporter Molly McGrath at halftime.

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“He may be able to come back,” Smart said. “He’s done a phenomenal job tonight. He’s running his tail off. We’ve gotta help him out, we’ve gotta get some looser players, get some things going.”

Etienne finished the first half with nine carries for 26 yards, making him Georgia’s leading rush.

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Altogether, the Georgia offense was hamstrung in the first half, both by a number of injuries — Etienne or otherwise — and a stout effort from the Kentucky defensive front.

The whole product in the first two quarters was a tough watch, the Bulldogs offense mustered fewer first downs — three — than punts. Quarterback Carson Beck finished the first two quarters 5-of-11 passing for 32 yards.

“Well their defensive front challenged our team the most,” Smart said. “We didn’t get many explosives offensively. We haven’t been able to generate anything offensively. We don’t have much rhythm offensively. Give credit to them, this is the road in the SEC. This is what it is.”

Smart reflected on his team’s respect for the challenge at hand after a 13-12 win

Following a 13-12 win against Kentucky, an offensive crawl through the mud that turned with a decisive Georgia touchdown in the second half, Smart reflect on if his messaging got home. Speaking with ESPN’s Molly McGrath postgame, he wasn’t certain that it had — but after the game, his players likely understood what he was saying.

“When you’re playing on the road in the SEC, people don’t respect that, and I’m not sure our guys listened to the message all week because this is a good football team,” Smart said. “You don’t judge SEC teams on one week. That’s a good football team. We did what we had to do, but we did not play real well at all.”

Smart shared that his main takeaway from the win was that this Georgia team has some backbone in a tough situation.

“We’re resilient,” Smart said. “Two years ago we go to Missouri, and we almost lose that game at night, on the road. Played at Auburn last year, first game of the year, on the road, almost lost that game. So you’ve gotta find ways to win these and that’s what we did, we found a way to win. The best news is, we can wake these guys up and go get better. Because the No. 1 thing we’ve got to do, is get better.”