ATHENS — Trevor Etienne brings an immediate lift to the Georgia offense as a true home run hitter coming out of the backfield, breaking off runs of 62 yards last year and 85 yards as a freshman.
Etienne, a rising junior transfer from Florida, has breakaway speed to go with his running, pass catching and return team skills.
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“He’s a dynamic player.” said former Florida star Chris Doering, who’s now a lead analyst on the SEC Network.
“This guys is a great carrying the ball out of the backfield, and he can catch the ball as well and has good hands — and he’s certainly good with the ball in his hands after the catch.”
Etienne left Florida after the Gators lost as many games the second half of last season (5) as Georgia has in the past six regular seasons combined.
His arrival comes at a good time with the Bulldogs losing veteran backs Kendall Milton and Daijun Edwards, and Branson Robinson still on the mend from the knee injury he suffered in fall camp.
Etienne split carries in the Gators’ backfield with Montrell Johnson, puzzling many who were close to the program.
It was Etienne who took over in Florida’s biggest win of the season last season, rushing for 172 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries in a 29-16 win over Tennessee.
And yet, it was Johnson starting again in the next game and continuing to get the majority of carries.
Etienne finished 11th in the SEC in rushing last season with 753 yards, scoring 8 touchdowns while averaging 5.75 yards per carry.
This, on a Florida team that ranked only eighth in the SEC and 77th in the nation in rushing with 149.8 yards per game.
Doering shared there are areas Etienne figures to get better under the guidance of the Georgia football staff.
“I’d like to see him be a little tougher finishing runs,” Doering said. “You may remember that Missouri loss, Florida had a chance to run some clock and he stepped out of bounds and made a mistake.
“I’m sure he’ll learn from that, but obviously he comes from great lineage, his brother (Travis) is a great player in the NFL and was in college, in his own right, at Clemson.”
Florida sources said Etienne’s family essentially recruited Georgia, wanting Trevor at Georgia to play for Kirby Smart in a championship program.
Smart obviously agreed, and now the Bulldogs could have one of the more formidable backfields in the SEC with Etienne, Roderick Robinson, Andrew Paul and Cash Jones returning experience, Branson Robinson on the mend, and some incoming freshman backs that include celebrated recruit Nate Frazier.
