Lawrence, Etienne, Higgins, Lawrence all grew up VOLS fans

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Clemson receiver Amari Rodgers sat next to running back Travis Etienne at Clemson’s media day ahead of Monday’s national championship game and answered questions, while also doing some listening to what Etienne had to say.

Rodgers was taken aback by one comment that came out of the tailback’s mouth.

With Etienne set to return home to Louisiana, he was asked if he grew up an LSU fan.

“Early on, growing up, no,” Etienne responded. “I was a Tennessee fan. I was a fan of the Tennessee Volunteers.”

Rodgers, a Knoxville native, was stunned.

“You might have seen me, I was sitting beside him and I heard him say that. I looked over at him like, ‘Uh, what?’”

Etienne’s proclamation made him just the latest star on Clemson’s offense to admit to growing up a Tennessee fan. Quarterback Trevor Lawrence, receivers Tee Higgins and Rodgers, and Etienne all dreamed of playing in a different shade of orange at one point.

“My mom’s family is from Tennessee, so growing up that’s the only thing I really knew was Tennessee football, watching them all the time,” said Lawrence, who, like Rodgers, was born in Knoxville, wears No. 16 because it’s the number former Vols quarterback Peyton Manning wore at Tennessee.

While Lawrence eventually moved to Georgia, Higgins and Rodgers grew up in the shadows of Neyland Stadium and naturally grew up cheering for the Vols. Higgins was committed to Tennessee for nearly two years, while Rodgers is the son of Tennessee legend Tee Martin.

“It was kind of one of those things where I feel like they expected me to go there because it was my hometown,” Rodgers said. “They didn’t really recruit me hard. They thought just because my dad went there I was gonna go there. That’s not what I wanted. I wanted to enjoy the process and go pick a school like anybody else.”

Etienne’s cousin, Janzen Jackson, played for Tennessee as Etienne was growing up, which played a role in him rooting for the Vols. Etienne considered Tennessee during the recruiting process but chose Clemson instead.

“It really is crazy to think about it,” Higgins said. “When (Travis) said it me and Amari looked at him and was like, ‘Really?’ We were joking around like, ‘What if we would have went there? We could’ve been legends there like Amari’s dad.’ But we’re here at the national championship game and I guess you can’t go wrong with that.”

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