ATHENS — Florida head coach Billy Napier has 16 losses in his time with the Gators. Kirby Smart has lost 16 games as Georgia’s head coach. But Napier has just 12 wins in Florida, while Smart has 97.
The gulf between the two programs is pretty wide, as new Georgia running back Trevor Etienne can attest. He’s played for both schools, as he transferred from Florida to Georgia this offseason.
“What they’ve done in the past, there’s not many programs like, “Etienne said of Georgia. “The G speaks for itself,”
As for Florida, he still hopes his former teammates are able to find success.
“Wishing them nothing but the best,” Etienne said. “They’ve struggled early on but hopefully they can get things going in the right direction.”
Etienne topped 700 yards rushing in each of his two seasons at Florida. But he came to Georgia in part to become a lead running back. He did that on Saturday when he had 79 rushing yards on 19 carries for Georgia.
But Georgia needs Etienne to lead in places that go far beyond the stat sheet. He’s the oldest running back on the team and someone head coach Kirby Smart has been impressed with in terms of his willingness to be a vocal contributor to this team.
“Toughness, great leadership, competitor, Trevor’s one of the best guys,” Smart said. “I can’t imagine what kind of leader he would be if he’d been in the program the whole time because he’s not afraid to speak out and talk and speak up, and I respect that about him. Because he hasn’t had not even a full year with these guys, but he’s not afraid to speak up, and he’s a tremendous leader in toughness.”
Etienne’s leadership skills have been praised from the moment Georgia players and coaches met him after his arrival.
“It was a mistake. Move forward from it. I hope that we can all learn from it and move forward at the end of the day,” Etienne said on the suspension.
Etienne admitted that he wanted to be there for his teammates and help in any way he could during the Clemson game. While Etienne declined to get into further details about what his punishment for the arrest looked like, he did get up and speak to the whole team about the mistake that he had made.
“I addressed the team. Use me as an example, it’s not worth it,” Etienne said. “It’s something you want move forward from and keep putting our best foot forward and avoiding those situations.”
Chaz Chambliss corroborated Etienne’s message and stressed the importance of being able to rely on teammates. It’s important to Etienne that he is a positive example for his teammates.
He’s Georgia’s leading rusher to this point in the season, totaling 157 rushing yards on 24 carries.
And as Smart pointed out on Tuesday, Etienne is still playing himself into top shape. Etienne had been dealing with a shoulder injury against Kentucky, but the junior running back said that he was fine when asked specifically about the injury.
As for his on-field impact, teammates believe that will only continue to grow in the games ahead.
“Trevor was a vital component for our offense by stepping up and being there when we needed him the most, made big runs, had explosive plays,” outside linebacker Jalon Walker said. “That’s what he does in practice. Once you have great practices during the week, you should line yourself up for a successful game.”
Winning and leading matter to Etienne. It’s why he’s fit so well into the Georgia culture to this point, even coming from what has been in recent years a losing program in Florida.
He knows his teammates are counting on him and he’s eager to continue to be better, both on and off the field, for them.
“This team, the guys embraced me here. I feel like with them being welcoming, opening up, allowing me in their locker room, and being able to be a part of their brotherhood is the reason why I feel comfortable being around those guys,” Etienne said.
