Trevor Etienne's Georgia journey takes him to home state of Louisiana

NEW ORLEANS — When Georgia lands in New Orleans later today, it’ll be a much anticipated return to the Big Easy for Trevor Etienne. The Jennings, La. native is looking forward to getting some gumbo and making a stop by Drago’s Seafood Restaurant. He’s also hoping to shake off some bad juju for his family at the Superdome.

“I mean, words can’t describe how excited I am to be back home, playing in New Orleans, playing in Louisiana,” Etienne told reporters in an availability on Saturday. “I actually don’t have that good of a history with games in that stadium. I lost in the state championship. It was terrible. My brother lost in college, I believe twice, in that stadium. But his last game there, he won, so I can say we’re on the upside of what we call ‘the dome curse.’ Man, it’s going to be electric. I can’t wait. I’m excited about it.”

For Etienne, a game like this is exactly what he came to Georgia for. It hasn’t all been smooth sailing though.

After beginning his collegiate career at Florida – wanting to do something different than his brother Travis that was a two-time ACC Player of the Year and three-time All-American at Clemson while also getting away from his home state school of LSU – he entered the transfer portal this past offseason and eventually chose the Bulldogs for his landing spot.

Things got off to a rough start with an arrest in March that led to a summer of suspension talk surrounding him. Etienne missed the season opener against his brother’s old school as a result. All along though, Kirby Smart and those around Georgia’s program maintained high praise of Etienne as a person. Not long after, he was able to show the type of player he was too.

Etienne totaled at least 90 yards of offense in each of his first two outings at Georgia against Tennessee Tech and Kentucky. He scored his first touchdown in red and black against Alabama, starting a streak of four straight games that saw him find the end zone – the final of those a three-touchdown, 110-yard night to help the Bulldogs beat top-ranked Texas on the road in Austin.

Just when it seemed things were trending in the right direction for Etienne and Georgia, he was forced to the sideline for the better part of a month due to a rib injury. Etienne was knocked out of the Florida game in the first half and played sparingly in a loss to Ole Miss. He would miss the next three games entirely.

“It was pretty bad. Yeah, it was pretty bad, man,” Etienne said about his injury. “… Honestly, you know, I feel like every setback was just a way of God talking to me, just telling me to be patient.”

Etienne felt the support of his teammates every step of the way, doing whatever he could to get back on the field when many in his position might shut things down. Knowing there wasn’t much rehab for ribs, Etienne focused on his conditioning, making sure he staying in shape for when he was able to get back on the field. He did that in the SEC Championship Game, providing a spark for Georgia in yet another win over Texas with a season-high 94 yards rushing including a season-long 48-yarder.

“Nobody wants to be injured. Nobody wants to miss games or anything like that. So just being able to come back and have the game that I had, just trying to keep building on that and keep stacking days moving forward,” Etienne said.

“We think he’s a special back that gives us a chance to hit a home run any time he touches the ball,” Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo added about Etienne and the luxury it is to call an offense that includes him. “None the more evident than that game, Texas, run a simple zone play, the frontside defensive end kind of stuck his head in the wrong gap, and he bounced it outside. It was an explosive play. It kind of got that drive going. It got the offense ignited. You know, you wish he was would have been healthy all year. He’s kind of been in and out early in the year, and then the four or five weeks that he was out. That hurts you a little bit, but that’s football.”

Bobo isn’t the only one to see that Georgia’s offense is different with Etienne present. Offensive lineman Tate Ratledge and tight end Oscar Delp, both of whom block for him, are aware too.

“Yeah, I mean, I think he makes a huge difference,” Ratledge said. “He’s an explosive back, he’s an experienced back. I mean, in the Texas game, you saw what him being back did. I mean, he runs the ball hard, he makes the right reads, and I mean, he makes us look good a lot of the time.”

“He’s a guy who came here and, I mean, I feel like he’s been here for since I got here. He’s someone I really consider a brother, and I know the offense loves him. Everyone on the team loves him. He’s a great leader, a great person,” Delp added, asked about being the first to meet Etienne in the end zone after his game-winning touchdown in overtime of the SEC Championship. “You know, just to have him have that moment and me get to be there with him was was really special. I mean, he deserves it. The things he’s been through this season that people don’t really get to see, you know, behind the scenes. It’s huge. I was really excited for him and I’m really happy for him.”

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Etienne will take the field New Year’s Day against Notre Dame with three weeks of rest to help his ribs feel a little bit better. He’ll once again be wearing the kevlar vest to protect him, hoping he can stay on the field as much as possible to help Georgia win what’s without a doubt the biggest game of the Bulldogs’ season – and of his career. That’s been his goal from the jump.

“The thing about Trevor that I love, you know, obviously he’s just been here one year, but he’s came in here with the right mindset. He’s embraced the team. He’s embraced whatever Coach Smart’s asked him to do, whatever I’ve asked him to do, whatever Coach Crawford’s asked him to do,” Bobo added to his earlier comments about Etienne as a player. ” … You can’t say enough about what a young man he is, and I think that part obviously is a great talent that can run and catch out of the backfield and can be explosive for us. But I think how he held himself and how he integrated into this culture of what Coach Smart has here at the University of Georgia says more about him and his impact on our football team than anything.”

“This is the game that every college player wants to be part of at the end of the year. This is the reason we go through the off-season training and we put all the hard work in, to to be able to get a shot at the title. And this is, you know, a step along that road,” Etienne said, speaking for himself on the importance of this game and the potential Playoff run with teammates he has gotten to know in less than a year. “So it’s just really a blessing and a great feeling to be a part of something that’s special … You know, like I said, this is why you come to Georgia and just being in a position that, you know, to win a national title is huge.

Georgia and Notre Dame kickoff from Caesar’s Superdome in New Orleans at 8:45 p.m. ET on ESPN January 1st. The Bulldogs enter as 2-point favorites over the Fighting Irish.