Together Again: Etienne thrilled about joining Lawrence in Jacksonville

Etienne and Lawrence are together again.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Fri Apr 30 14:01:03 GMT-04:00 2021

Travis Etienne sat with a group of friends and family Thursday night watching the NFL Draft, and once he saw Trevor Lawrence taken off the board with the No. 1 overall pick by the Jacksonville Jaguars, he began to hope that the Jacksonville Jaguars would look his way later in the first round.

"I was secretly rooting for Jacksonville," Etienne later told the media.

The Louisiana native and Clemson record holder was picked No. 25 overall by the Jaguars, meaning that he will reunite with Lawrence in Jacksonville.

"I did have it in the back of my mind that I might have a chance to reunite with Trev," Etienne said. "For it to come full circle, I'm just happy, excited and blessed. Being his teammate for three years, we've really built that camaraderie. I don't have to work on getting to know somebody else.

"I know Trev inside and out. It will be a great feeling. We're going out there with the same common goal, so there will be great things to happen on that field."

Lawrence, done with his round of media interviews, sat down in time to watch his running back become a teammate once again, and it didn’t take long for him to text Etienne.

"He was like, 'Let's go, man,''' Etienne said. "We're ready to get together and keep improving what we've done so far. We're just both excited to get a chance to play with each other. It's a great blessing and we're ready to get to work, honestly. I just can't wait to get down there, honestly."

Etienne always had the ability to run and he recently completed one of the most prolific careers in Clemson, ACC and college football history across the 2017-20 seasons, rushing 686 times for 4,952 yards with 70 rushing touchdowns. He is the NCAA FBS record holder for most career games scoring a touchdown (46 of his 55 career games), and he’s the ACC career record-holder for rushing yards (4,952), total touchdowns (78), rushing touchdowns (70) and points (468).

However, it was in the passing game where he saw much of his improvement, and he caught 102 passes for 1,155 and eight receiving touchdowns in his career. Etienne said he wanted to make himself a complete player before testing the NFL waters.

"The way the game's going in the modern-day era at the running-back position you have to be a three-down back," Etienne said. "Those checkdown yards really go a long way, and I feel like that really has helped me solidify my pick in the first round. That helped me get to where I'm at today."

The good news for Jacksonville fans is that Etienne -- despite putting together one of the most storied careers in college football and Clemson history -- feels like he can still improve.

"I feel like I haven't reached where I can get in my career," he said. "I feel like I'm only getting better at this point. I feel like this was the best pick they could have made, honestly."