Trevor Etienne, Travis’ younger brother, switched from Florida to Georgia during the winter. The 19-year-old running back transferred within the SEC East after two seasons in Gainesville.
The decision sent shockwaves throughout the conference and collegiate football as a whole
Etienne joins a Bulldogs backfield that is set to lose Daijun Edwards and Kendall Milton to the NFL Draft after rushing for more than 1,400 yards with the Gators. He has a legitimate opportunity to serve as the primary ball-carrier in Athens on a team that expects to compete for a national championship next season.
The same cannot be said about Florida. Not only did Etienne finish behind Montrell Johnson in touches last season, head coach Billy Napier is firmly on the hot seat in 2024. He must win. A third-straight losing season for will result in his ouster and there is not a lot of hope for the Gators to get better.
That was the primary factor in their running back’s decision to leave.
He recently revealed his decision for the first time in an interview with Tate Ratledge on Real Talk. Etienne trashed his prior program.
For me, the question was, “Does the good outweigh the bad?”
I have been with Florida for two years. I went through the entire rebuilding procedure, and it is still in progress. I felt there was a lot of uncertainty, so many questions remained unanswered. There is a lot of unknown going on. I felt like I could either stay [in Florida] and continue doing what I was doing for another year or two, or I could bet on myself and take a risk somewhere else.
That thought process is very reasonable. Etienne is saying the truth.
Then came the kicker. The final shot, if you will.
To summarize, I had to choose between being Running Back 2 on a losing team and going somewhere – I also wanted to play in December. That also contributed significantly to my decision to transfer. So I decided that I could either stay as Running Back 2 on a losing squad or go somewhere and perhaps be Running Back 1 and win a natty.
While Etienne’s comments are not invalid, they ruffled a lot of feathers in the Sunshine State. Florida fans are furious. The players (and Napier) will surely use his bold statement as bulletin board material.
That’s fantastic, but it probably doesn’t matter. Etienne is correct.
There is no reason why his new program should lose against his previous program. There is almost no chance that his new program will finish lower than his previous program.
Georgia expects to be among the top seeds in the inaugural 12-team College Football Playoff. Florida’s chances of making the bowl game arim.
