Clemson’s Etienne rolls into Cotton Bowl
USA TODAY Sports’ Paul Myerberg previews the two upcoming College Football Playoff matchups and explains why Oklahoma was awarded the final spot.
USA TODAY Sports
CLEMSON, S.C. – Travis Etienne made quite an impression as a freshman.
He made an even bigger one this season – literally.
A bigger, stronger, faster Etienne established himself as one of the nation’s top running backs while helping Clemson to a 13-0 record and No. 2 national ranking.
Next up? A taste of Notre Dame in the Cotton Bowl come Saturday night.
“I think he’s as good a running back as we’ve seen since Georgia of last year – that kind of talent,” Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly said.
Nick Chubb notwithstanding, Etienne may be the best the Fighting Irish have faced in years.
Etienne pinballed his way to 1,463 yards and a school single-season record 21 rushing touchdowns this season, earning first-team All-Atlantic Coast Conference honors as well as league Offensive Player of the Year recognition.
He finished the season with a flourish and will enter the Cotton Bowl on a roll after rushing for 306 yards in the Tigers’ last two games, notching his sixth and seventh 100-yard games of the season.
“I worked out in the offseason and put on more weight,” said Etienne, who came to campus around 190 pounds and now is shade over 200. “And the coaches just put me in the best position to make plays.”
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That may indeed be the case, but Etienne does considerable heavy lifting on his own, regardless of the position in which he finds himself. His linemen love blocking for a guy who so aggressive running the ball.
“He just improves every week,” offensive lineman Sean Pollard said. “The offensive linemen want to block for somebody like that.
“It’s great. You know if you put that little extra into blocking, he’s going to take it to the house. It’s nice knowing you’ve got somebody back there who can break a tackle and go 80 yards like it’s nothing.”
Given his penchant for breaking runs into the second and third level of the defense, perhaps no one on Clemson’s defense knows more about the challenge of tackling Etienne than safety Tanner Muse, who described Etienne as “slippery.”
“You never know about him,” Muse said. “He’ll try to run over you sometimes and then try to go around you sometimes.
“I know his freshman year, when he first started coming out, he broke some 60-yard, 50-yard, 40-yard runs just like crazy and you look at our defense from last year and it was a top-tier defense and we kind of took a step back and were like, ‘This dude’s a freshman?’ He’s the real deal.”
Etienne proved as much this season, backing up his surprising freshman campaign in which he led the Tigers with 766 yards and 13 rushing touchdowns.
“He’s really coming into his body,” Muse said. “His legs are real thick, tree trunks, and then he’s fast. He’s got that low center of gravity, so people try to hit him from the side it’s not going to work. It’s almost like a big Mack truck running down an interstate, you’ve got to get in front of him, somebody’s got to get on the side of him, somebody’s got to get on the back of him and somebody’s got to get on top of him to get him down.
“He’s a big strong dude, but he doesn’t look it. People come in and they’re ‘I’m gonna smoke this dude. He ain’t got nothing for me.’ And then they figure it out the hard way.”
That deceptive power is belied by his uncanny knack for remaining upright.
“I’m a balanced runner,” Etienne said.
No kidding.
As he pinballs his way through opposing defenses, he draws oohs and aahs from fans and teammates alike – even those on the sideline.
“We’re always peaking at the screen (during games), trying to see what’s going while (defensive coordinator Brent) Venables is trying to make an adjustment or something, and we’re like ‘How did he get out of that?,’ ” linebacker Isaiah Simmons said.
“His balance is the key thing. You can’t just hit him because his balance is ridiculous; it’s amazing. He’s so hard to tackle, especially when he gets going, then he’s even harder to tackle. He’s a really special guy.”
Etienne, who is averaging 8.3 yards per carry this season, also acknowledges the important of having back-ups such as Adam Choice, Tavien Feaster and Lyn-J Dixon – all of whom are averaging 5.8 yards per carry or more.
“We’re at our best when we’re rotating in and out and keeping everybody with fresh legs,” Etienne said.
Etienne finished seventh in Heisman Trophy voting earlier this month, and his teammates believe he was short-changed. But perhaps another record-setting season as a junior will help his cause some next December.
“I think he definitely should’ve been more of a contender for the Heisman,” Pollard said “I mean he splits time. Most of these running backs with all these yards don’t split time, so what he does with a limited number of reps is crazy.”
