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Etienne is looking for yard goods against the canes. (Courtesy photo of ACC)
CLEMSON –
Travis Etienne is overshadowed by the tremendous presence of the quarterback
Trevor Lawrence sometimes, but Saturday night showed the whole nation that dynamic running back of the Tigers should be under discussion for the Heisman Trophy.
Etienne carried the ball 17 times for a season high of 149 yards and two touchdowns, and added eight receptions for 73 yards to lead Clemson No. 1 to a dominant 42-17 win over No. 7 Miami on Saturday night in Death Valley.
With a 21:10 win for the Tigers in the third quarter, Etienne broke off the run of the night and ran to the right to find a 72-yarder that effectively ended the low momentum Miami had built.
Kirk Herbstreit, an analyst at ESPN College Football, named the win over Miami and remembers the first time he saw Etienne – the freshman pulled out of a long touchdown run in Louisville in 2017.
“I called that game in Louisville that night and I can’t remember who the other one was. They had another back that was still on the team that was playing and I think it was a starter and I remember that Dabo that led in the game like wait, wait, wait, see this one Newbie we have? You know, he can fly and has a bright future, ”said Herbstreit earlier this week. “But Dabo – I mean, like the way they recruit every year, they have a couple of people he says this about and then he came in and brought you into the house and our cameras got him and everyone sort of got you saw was his big smile and his braces. And he looked like a 16 or 17 year old boy. And you saw that speed, that initial burst and then his speed that the boys couldn’t catch up – that was my first observation of him. “
Herbstreit loved following Etienne’s career.
“And then of course I followed him very closely throughout his career. I remember seeing him the next year when he came back and saw a lot more strength in his lower body and his ability to pop out armrests, “said Herbstreit. “I think in his third year I saw more patience instead of leaving immediately and trusting his speed. He began with the game having repetitions and experiences that he had to itself. He started waiting for games to develop and waiting and waiting and then, like big backs do, he hit it. And that’s why I think it was just a very, very natural growth for him in this position. “
As a senior, Etienne seems to be setting a record every week and transforming into some sort of full back who deserves to be on the Heisman conversation and get a little more attention from the rest of the nation.
“This year everything is summed up in one – the patience, the speed, which is as good as anyone else in the country. The power he has now in balance … you saw that against Virginia last week when he got that shot and got hit, “said Herbstreit. “And somehow he kept his balance, lowered his hand and caught the ball from the backcourt. I just think he got a full back and I think it was really a bit of an eye opener when he said he was coming back you know after last year a lot of people assumed he was going and I think , he’s an example of guys who decided to come back and complete their maturation before moving on to the next level. Now an NFL team is going to find a man who isn’t everyone. I don’t think the nation is giving him the love or appreciation he deserves. I think that’s because Trevor has received so much attention for this offense in recent years. “
Miami’s head coach Manny Diaz said after the game that Etienne is “the guy” on the Clemson offensive.
“I can talk about superlatives all day at Trevor Lawrence, but Travis Etienne is the guy. He’s as good a college football player as he is at college football,” said Diaz. “Obviously the whole plan is in third place not to let him throw the ball at Etienne and that’s easier said than done because when he’s in the open he’s so dangerous. Again, we have to do better than what we did about Trevor. ” Lawrence threw the ball five yards at Etienne on a swing and let it go. These balls also count as passing meters. We couldn’t figure out what they are best at and how strong they are in third place. We made adjustments and got better as the game progressed it was very difficult, but it was really difficult the first couple of drives. “
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