One of the best storylines heading into Georgia football's showdown with Florida on Saturday is running back Trevor Etienne. The star running back spent his first two collegiate seasons at Florida, before transferring to Georgia where he has found a lot of success already.
Emotions will definitely be high for Etienne this weekend. But the running back appears to be handling them well and is very excited to take on his former team and teammates.
Kirby Smart knows how distracting this matchup could be for Etienne. Earlier this week, Smart commented on just that and shared what Etienne needs to do to find success against his former team.
"Yeah, focus on the task. It's not a chance... You don't want to get caught up in emotions." Smart said via Dawgpost.com. "I don't think that helps any. Dom's gone through it with Missouri a couple times and, you know, different players. That's the best part of college football now. We've had kids go down there, so we don't get caught up in it much. I mean, at the end of the day, what's going to make you play well? It ain't worrying about that.”
Focusing on the task at hand
Smart makes the great point that Etienne needs to play within himself, and not let himself get too wrapped up in all the extra noise surrounding this game. The last thing Etienne needs to do is go overboard and try too hard, which could hurt him more than it helps. Etienne needs to let the game come to him and take what the Florida defense gives him without forcing the issue.
The good news for Etienne is that he will have plenty of opportunities to leave his mark on this game. Both Roderick Robinson and Branson Robinson are once again ruled out on Georgia’s injury report, so Etienne will be the featured back by himself just like he was against Texas. And we all know how well he did against the Longhorns.
So far it seems like Etienne is saying all the right things and not letting the emotions get the best of him. Let’s just hope that continues once he lines up against the Gators this weekend.