Travis Etienne praises Tank Bigsby for 'night and day' improvement entering season

Travis Etienne is seeing a different Tank Bigsby as his fellow running back enters Year 2 with the Jacksonville Jaguars.

While his rookie season was slightly disappointing, it’s evident Bigsby is motivated to make a name for himself in his sophomore campaign. Speaking with the media, Etienne spoke more about the change he’s seen in the former Auburn ball carrier.

“I wouldn’t say edge. I would say, he’s a lot smoother. He’s a lot more confident,” Etienne said, questioned whether Bigsby has a renowned edge in 2024. “He’s a lot more just, he’s not as antsy as he was last year.

“I feel like you could just kind of tell he’s getting his swagger behind his pads, and I feel like I love that for him, because he’s going to be a vital part for us to be able to just be a great team.”

Moreover, Etienne believes Bigsby’s transformation is simply part of adjusting to the NFL, and learning what you can’t get away with that he was able to during his time as a running back in college, and the rest of the Jaguars running back room is going through it, as well.

“The ability to learn, the ability to pick up, I feel like they’re all physical. I feel like they all want to run behind their pads,” Etienne added. “But I feel — just got to learn the NFL, and learn that you can’t just bounce everything. Everyone’s got speed, everyone’s fast, and you just kind of have to get vertical, get what the defense gives you, and let’s get it the next down.”

Regardless, Bigsby’s improvement over the summer has been on display for the entire team to see, and Etienne believes a completely different version of the running back will be ready to put on for the Jaguars in 2024.

“Oh yeah, most definitely,” Etienne said, regarding whether he’s seen an improvement in his teammate. “Because I feel like you gotta understand, whenever you’re coming from college to the NFL, you’re used to being the big guy on campus, and then when you get to NFL, it’s kind of like being that freshman all over again, like no one really cares who you are. No one really knows who you are. You got to kind of just rebrand yourself. And I feel like last year was a kind of learning curve for him, because he was always the guy at Auburn, since he came in. So, he never really had a guy like me in the running back room with him.

“So, for him, to just understand that he just needs to lock in and do his part, I feel like he really learned, and I could just tell, just the way that he’s been just approaching the game. … Just getting his IQ so much further along. And you can see it in his play. Making a lot of plays out there on the field for us, just the way he’s been reading, just waving and hitting the hole. Him catching the ball, looking the ball in. I feel like it’s night and day from where he was last year.”

Time will tell if it’s all just smoke from Travis Etienne, or if Tank Bigsby is ready for some more carries this season. The Jacksonville Jaguars certainly hope the latter is the case.