Trevor Etienne transfers to Georgia: Ex-Florida star RB joins rival after two impressive seasons with Gators

Florida transfer running back Trevor Etienne, the No. 1 available player at his position in the transfer portal, committed to Georgia on Sunday. Etienne has spent two seasons with Florida after signing with the program out of high school in February 2022, and will stay in the SEC with two seasons remaining of eligibility as he joins the Gators’ chief conference rival.

Etienne is the No. 18 overall player available in the 247Sports transfer portal rankings and is the brother of Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne. He racked up 700 yards on the ground the last two seasons and was Florida’s team’s leader in rushing touchdowns (8) in 2023.

Coming out of Jennings (Louisiana) High School, Etienne signed with Florida over Clemson, Alabama, Florida State, Georgia and LSU, among others. 

Etienne appeared in 11 games for the Gators and missed the Week 6 clash against Vanderbilt due to a shoulder injury. He was a critical part of the Florida offense throughout the season while splitting the workload with Montrell Johnson Jr. and finished with 753 yards on the ground, which ranked second on the team behind Johnson.

Georgia’s transfer portal class now ranks No. 16 in the country with Etienne becoming the fifth player to transfer into the program to this point.

The rich get richer

Anytime you have the chance to add the No. 1-ranked player at any position in the transfer portal, you have to do it. Etienne is the fifth player to transfer to Georgia this cycle, joining former Miami wide receiver Colbie Young, South Carolina defensive lineman Xzavier McLeod, Vanderbilt wide receiver London Humphreys and UCLA long snapper Beau Gardner.

Georgia’s philosophy of late has been to continue building through high school recruiting. Georgia only added four players from the transfer portal last year and have already locked up the No. 1 high school recruiting class for the 2024 cycle. Etienne should receive significant reps right away because the Bulldogs are expected to lose leading rushers Daijun Edwards and Kendall Milton to the NFL Draft. Etienne’s move to Georgia is the perfect storm of going to a winning program and being favored to get most of the reps going forward.

Another loss for Florida

It’s been a rough offseason for coach Billy Napier and Co. at Florida. The Gators saw multiple members of their highly touted 2024 recruiting class flip their commitment to a different program, so losing Etienne and star edge rusher Princely Umanmielen to SEC rivals is the latest blow. Umanmielen was the highest-ranked player from Florida to enter the transfer portal, and the No. 10 overall player in the rankings committed to Ole Miss earlier this month.

With Etienne officially gone from the program, Johnson should take on a bigger role in 2024. The Gators return freshman Treyaun Webb, who was the third-leading rusher in 2023 and will welcome in four-star running back Kahnen Daniels.