Kirby Smart Explains Decision To Not Discuss The Status Of Suspended RB Trevor Etienne

During his press conference on Tuesday, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart declined to offer a status update on suspended running back Trevor Etienne.

Etienne did not play in the season opener vs. Clemson on Saturday after he was arrested in March for DUI and three other charges.

Whether Etienne plays vs. Tennessee Tech on Saturday will be determined closer to kickoff, as Smart doesn't plan on discussing his availability anytime soon. Per On3:

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“Again, we don’t talk about it,” Smart said. “It’s not something that I share or talk about. Respectfully, respect your question.”

“It’s not gamesmanship at all for me – it’s a kid,” Smart said. “It’s a kid, his family. When recruits come in my room, they say, we respect the way you handle things because a kid takes enough drug-through-the-mud headlines, everybody puts it out there. And then nobody knows if it’s wrong or it gets dropped or any of that. They don’t do that.

“I want to defend the kid. To discuss it again and say it again, then it’s another whole headline out there. It’s not gamesmanship in any way, shape or form for me. It’s just, I don’t want that for the kid. I don’t want to have to go through that again. That’s why I don’t discuss it.”

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