Trevor Etienne added to the Georgia-Florida football rivalry in December when he announced he would be transferring within the SEC from the Gators to the Bulldogs.
It was a move that made logic on paper for the Bulldogs, who had to replace their running game after Daijun Edwards and Kendall Milton declared for the NFL draft. Still, it made headlines and stirred up the SEC rivalry, given the production Etienne provided in Gainesville.
On Friday, Etienne appeared on the "Real Talk Player" Podcast alongside Bulldogs teammate Tate Ratlege and spoke about what ultimately led him to transfer to Georgia. It also included a slight dig at his former squad.
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“For me, it was like, does the good outweigh the bad?” Etienne said. “I’ve been with Florida for two years. I went through that whole process of rebuilding, it’s kind of still rebuilding. I felt like there was a lot of uncertainty, so like, a lot of questions were unanswered. There’s a lot of unknown going on. I felt like, I can stay here and do what I’ve been doing for another year or two or bet on myself and take a chance somewhere else.
“Pretty much to sum it up, it was like, I can either be Running Back 2 on a losing team or go somewhere — I wanted to play in December, too. That also played a big part in me transferring. So I said, 'I can stay Running Back 2 on a losing team or go somewhere and possibly be Running Back 1 and win a natty.'"
The Jennings, Louisiana native led the Gators in rushing touchdowns (eight), yards per carry (5.7) and yards per game (68.4) with 753 total rushing yards during his sophomore season in 2023. He finished with nearly 1,500 rushing yards in two seasons in Gainesville. And despite his own successes on the gridiron as Florida's No. 2 running back, the Gators underperformed overall: They have gone 11-14 overall and 6-10 in the SEC the last two years under Billy Napier.
At Georgia, Etienne will have the opportunity to not only compete for an SEC championship and a national championship, but also will be in line to compete for the Bulldogs' No. 1 running back as Edwards and Milton declared for the NFL draft.
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Etienne, the brother of Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne, was a four-star recruit and the No. 2 running back to enter the transfer portal according to his 247Sports Composite ranking. He chose Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs over Ohio State in the transfer portal.
Etienne will take his former team on Nov. 2 when the Bulldogs travel to Jacksonville, Florida to face the Gators.
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Georgia's Trevor Etienne on Florida transfer: 'I wanted to play in December'
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