Georgia will be without one of its key players, Trevor Etienne, in Saturday’s highly anticipated season opener against Clemson. The No. 1-ranked Bulldogs are expected to bench their star running back against the No. 14 Tigers, according to sources from 247Sports and CBS Sports.
The suspension is linked to Etienne’s March arrest for DUI and reckless driving. While the DUI charge was dropped through a deal with prosecutors, Etienne pled no contest to reckless driving and guilty to underage possession of alcohol, failure to maintain lane, and a window tint violation. Etienne, the younger brother of former Clemson running back Travis Etienne, was set to be Georgia’s lead back after accumulating 1,458 rushing yards over two seasons at Florida, including 753 yards and nine touchdowns last year.
Etienne, a junior, was ranked as the No. 3 running back transfer of the 2024 offseason by 247Sports, behind only Quinshon Judkins (Ole Miss to Ohio State) and Damien Martinez (Oregon State to Miami). In addition to Etienne, Georgia will also miss running back Roderick Robinson, the team’s top returning rusher, who recently underwent toe surgery. Head coach Kirby Smart described Robinson as “week to week.”
With Etienne and Robinson out, Georgia will rely on younger talent, including sophomore Branson Robinson and freshman Nate Frazier. The 5-foot-10, 220-pound Robinson is returning after missing last season due to a preseason knee injury, having rushed for 330 yards as a freshman in 2022. Frazier, one of Georgia’s highly-touted recruits, has impressed during fall camp and is expected to be a significant contributor this season. Frazier was ranked as the No. 2 running back prospect in the 2024 recruiting class.
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