re: 2023 Football Discussion Thread General Thoughts & Comments

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GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The fresh faces around the Heavener Football Training Center saw him play last season, so it's not unusual for one of Trevor Etienne's new teammates to quiz him about something related to the team's offseason conditioning program.

In their eyes, Etienne is one of the revamped Gators' established players. That is when the 18-year-old running back, two months removed from his freshman season, reminds them that he was home in Jennings, La., finishing high school and playing baseball a year ago.

This is all new to him, too.

"I played right field,'' Etienne said. "I enjoyed it a lot. Baseball clears your mind."

Based on his first season at UF, Etienne arrived on campus clear-headed and eager to make an impression. He succeeded, turning in a freshman campaign that included 719 yards rushing, 6.1 yards per carry, and six touchdowns, including an 85-yard scamper against South Carolina that stands as the second-longest rushing score for a freshman in school history.

As Etienne prepares for his first spring camp with the Gators, he is unruffled and unsatisfied.

"I feel like I had a great freshman season, but I feel like it was only good for a freshman,'' he said. "I feel like coming into the new season, I have to do a lot better."

If Gators coach Billy Napier reads those words, he will likely grin.

Etienne's drive and determination are deeply embedded in his nature, growing up the younger brother of former Clemson star running back Travis Etienne. Travis finished his college career as the Atlantic Coast Conference's all-time leading rusher (4,952 yards) and FBS record-holder for most career games scoring a touchdown (46).

Trevor Etienne at a fan event during Florida's trip to the Las Vegas Bowl in December. (Photo: Hannah White/UAA Communications)
Travis recently completed his second season with the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars, continuing to set a pace for his younger brother to maintain and perhaps surpass. Trevor keeps close tabs on Travis, who has a five-plus-years advantage in age.

They are close and competitive.

"Week to week, we're going against each other,'' Trevor said. "We see who is going to have the best game. I'll be playing, and there will already be a couple of clips he has sent me in the messages, critiquing the game, just trying to help me out. And vice versa. I'm doing the same for him.

"A big problem he had this season was ball security. I'm like, 'man, you gotta hold onto that ball.' I'm on him before every game, 'protect the ball, protect the quarterback.' That's just how we help each other to stay the best."

With time to reflect on his first year of college football, Trevor immediately pinpointed what he considers the most crucial moment. Two moments, actually, and one involving ball security.

They happened in the first game, the season opener at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium against Utah.

On Florida's first drive of the Napier era, Nay'Quan Wright and newcomer Montrell Johnson Jr. took reps at tailback. The series ended when Johnson lost a fumble at Utah's 25-yard line, and R.J. Hubert returned it 47 yards, setting up Utah's first score.

During the ensuing TV break, Etienne was standing near the back of the Gators' huddle when he heard his name called. He was going into the game.

"I was shocked,'' he said.

Etienne put on his helmet that night, figuring he might get some late-game action if he played at all. On the first carry of his career, Etienne bolted for 19 yards and a first down. He continued to share carries with Wright and Johnson throughout the game.

In his view, the second most crucial moment of Etienne's season happened in the fourth quarter, with the Gators trailing 26-22 and facing third-and-1 at their 45. Etienne took a handoff and broke into the open field, picking up 15 yards when Hubert forced him to fumble. The ball squirted ahead 6 yards, where Etienne recovered to keep the drive alive.

He expected to hear his name called again – but to come to the sideline. Instead, Etienne stayed in the game and gained four yards on the next play, a drive that ended with quarterback Anthony Richardson scoring on a 2-yard run for the winning score.

"I didn't think I was ever going to play again,'' Etienne said. "And then I got the ball the next play, so that kind of helped keep my confidence high. That shows you've got to flush the negative and move on to the next play."

The sequence hardened Etienne's resolve to make a difference in his first season and prove he is more than Travis' younger brother. It also reminded him of what Travis told him when people began comparing them to each other in Trevor's first year of high school.

It remains the best advice he can remember his brother ever giving him.

Don't try to leave a legacy. Live a legacy.

Jaguars running back Travis Etienne is Trevor's older brother and a constant sounding board. (Photo: Bob Self/Florida Times-Union via USA TODAY Sports)
"That kind of just stuck with me,'' Trevor said. "Being compared to him, I can get caught up in trying to beat him, beat all his records, and that would take all the fun out of the game for me. He was telling me just be myself and be great every chance I get."

The approach has worked.

Former Gators offensive lineman O'Cyrus Torrence, a first-team AP All-American in his lone UF season after transferring from Louisiana, had met the younger Etienne before they became teammates. Trevor had attended a couple of Louisiana games in high school as he contemplated his future, eventually choosing the Gators over LSU and Clemson.

Torrence quickly saw a player on a mission.

"From the first fall camp snap, he just improved like every day, every practice,'' Torrence said.

Despite being a first-year player, Etienne gained respect in the locker room and from the coaching staff.

Napier had this to say the week after Etienne's 100-yard performance against the Gamecocks earned him SEC Freshman of the Week honors: "You can see he has physical ability. But the impressive thing about him is he is humble. He is very smart. He's got really good character, and he is a good teammate. He's a leader, believe it or not. Amongst the players, he will call a guy out. That guy's a leader. He's that kind of guy."

Etienne is young – and he'll always be the youngest of the Etienne brothers – but he is well on his way to establishing his own identity.

It's easy to see why his younger teammates try to pick his brain. He gets it.

If you ask him what he wants to improve as a sophomore, he tells you all you need to know.

"I feel like I have to improve at everything,'' he said. "The biggest thing for me was my pass blocking. In high school, I really didn't have to pass block that much. We ran the split-back veer. We were running the ball every play. At the end of the season, I kind of picked up on it, but I need to put it on tape consistently."

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