ATHENS — Trevor Etienne had a high impact for the 2024 Georgia football team, and he’s capable of providing a lift for the team that selects him in the 2025 NFL Draft.
Etienne, a 5-foot-9, 198 pounds, is on the smaller side for an NFL tailback, but he possesses home run speed and a strong burst off the snap, turning in a 4.42-second time in the 40-yard dash.
The younger brother of Jacksonville Jaguars’ back Travis Etienne, Trevor Etienne has also shown good route-running skills and consistent hands, able to catch the ball on swing passes in the flats, over the middle on angle routes or along the sideline on the wheel route.
Here are 3 things more things to know about Trevor Etienne entering the NFL draft, where he is projected to be selected as a third- or fourth-round pick in a draft loaded with quality backs:
Texas slayer
Etienne, projected as a third- or fourth-round pick, was a difference-marker for the Bulldogs when it mattered most in two wins over Texas that led to UGA winning the SEC championship in 2024.
Etienne scored three touchdowns in Georgia’s 30-15 win over then-No. 1 and unbeaten Texas in Austin, rushing for 87 yards on 19 carries in addition to catching three passes for 23 yards.
It was Etienne scoring the game-winning touchdown in the Bulldogs’ 22-19 overtime win over the favored Longhorns in the SEC Championship Game, as well.
It was one of two touchdowns for Etienne in the game, as he rushed for 94 yards on 16 carries and caught five passes for 28 yards.
Locker room leader
Etienne was instantly popular with teammates after transferring in from rival Florida, as teammate Tate Ratledge told him during a podcast that “you’re like the first person to walk in this building, and just like, I think everyone likes you, you’ve just got a good personality.”
Head coach Kirby Smart praised Etienne for his leadership, ability, as well.
“Everything we’ve heard about Etienne before he got here has held true, he’s a tremendous leader, he’s a high character kid,” Smart said. “So he immediately surges into a leadership role.”
Durability questions
Etienne is capable of running between the tackles with his burst, vision and elusiveness, but he’s better suited for perimeter runs and catching the ball out of the backfield.
Etienne returned from a shoulder injury suffered in the first half to help UGA come from behind in a 13-12 win at Kentucky, carrying five times for 40 yards in the second half of that victory.
Etienne later missed three games on account of bruised ribs before returning to star in the SEC Championship Game against Texas, and leading UGA with 11 carries and 38 yards in the 23-10 Sugar Bowl loss to Notre Dame.
