ESPN names Georgia's top impact newcomer for 2024

Spring football is over and the college football world slows down for the time being. With student athletes across the country finishing up final exams and the summer session of classes getting started before too long, the offseason appears to be here. That being the case, ESPN decided to take another look at the biggest impact newcomers for each of their top-25 teams, highlighting a name you likely know from Georgia.

According to Billy Tucker, recruiting coordinator for ESPN RecruitingNation with nearly a decade of college coaching experience and more than that in evaluating prospects at ESPN since 2006, the newcomer in Athens you can expect to have the biggest impact is running back Trevor Etienne. A transfer from Florida, he stepped in and showed his skills this spring ahead of a 2024 season where more can be expected.

“Georgia’s recipe for success under Kirby Smart has been a strong run game with a stout defense. The Bulldogs lost Daijun Edwards and Kendall Milton, their top rushers respectively from a year ago. Etienne, the No. 16 running back in the 2022 ESPN 300, was a very productive back the past two years running behind an average offensive line at Florida,” Tucker wrote. “He produced back-to-back seasons over 700 yards and scored 14 total touchdowns for the Gators. Etienne has great feet and lateral quickness to pick and slide through traffic and can separate from defenders by shifting gears in the open field. At 5-foot-9 and 205 pounds, Etienne will square up and bounce off initial contact, but is not a pile pusher or load carrier. He is more versatile as well, catching 21 passes for 172 yards last year.”

“Adding Etienne is similar to when D’Andre Swift was in Georgia’s backfield,” Tucker continued. “He has a combination of sneaky power and contact balance, yet is nimble and agile enough to make people miss, turn the corner and be a home run threat. He should form a nice tandem with 6-foot, 240-pound Roderick Robinson II, who enjoyed a strong spring, and is a more powerful downhill runner.”

A native of Jennings, Louisiana, Etienne, the younger brother of former Clemson standout and Jacksonville Jaguars star Travis, chose Florida as he looked for a different experience. He knew what it’d be like to play at LSU and live in Baton Rouge and had been along for the journey with his brother at Clemson. Georgia was among the schools he considered, but the Bulldogs instead signed Branson Robinson and added Andrew Paul to the class late.

Etienne has been one of the best backs in the SEC over the course of two seasons at Florida, and the hope in Athens is that he’ll continue to do exactly that for Georgia. Etienne finished second on Florida’s roster in rushing in back to back seasons, topping the 700-yard mark each year. Only making matters more impressive is the fact that he did it in a two-headed workhorse backfield alongside Montrell Johnson. Etienne averaged more yards per attempt than Johnson with 6.09 as a freshman and 5.75 as a sophomore. He also managed to add a dynamic ability as a pass catcher.

This past season, Etienne had what he described on the podcast as the best game of his career in an upset victory over Tennessee. Rushing for 172 yards on 23 attempts including a 62-yarder, Etienne helped lead the Gators to the win with a touchdown. Later in the season, he also had a three-touchdown day against LSU, recording 925 total yards (753 rushing, 172 receiving) and nine touchdowns on the season with double-digit touches in all but one game.

Tucker’s comparison of Etienne to D’Andre Swift isn’t the first time we’ve heard that one either. It’s one that Kirby Smart made after Georgia’s spring game, pointing out the quickness and ability to cut with ease that’s different than some of the more recent backs the Bulldogs have had.

Etienne did run into a little bit of trouble off the field this spring, getting arrested in Athens for a DUI in March. Disciplinary action from the University and athletic department has not been announced and would be something to watch for as the season approaches. Through it all, Smart maintains that Etienne is a “good kid” and has handled himself well in the fallout from the off-field incident.

“I’ve really enjoyed getting to know him. I think he’s a great kid, great person. We’ve gotten to know his family. He enjoys being coached. He’s a bright kid and we push him hard out there. He really loves the competition, but as we also know, sometimes kids don’t make the best decisions,” Smart said. “The older you get, sometimes the tougher the consequences are for your mistakes. He’s not going to let this mistake define him. He’s embarrassed, upset and knows he made a mistake. It’s a teaching moment, and we hope he gets better from it … Disappointed in his decision making, but he is a good kid.”

“Everything that we heard about Etienne before he got here has held true,” Smart added on a separate occasion. “He’s a tremendous leader, he’s a high-character kid. He immediately surges into a leadership role because he’s not a first-year player. He’s been in our league, he’s been in our conference, he has standards and expectations and he’s high character, and he’s proven that in the time he’s been here.”