No. 1 Georgia sidelined transfer running back Trevor Etienne for Saturday's season opener against No. 14 Clemson in Atlanta, sources tell CBS Sports/247Sports.
Etienne, a Florida transfer, was arrested in May on DUI and reckless driving charges. His Week 1 suspension is a result of that. Georgia expects him to be its top rusher when he returns.
The DUI charge was later dismissed as part of a deal with prosecutors. But Etienne plead no contest to reckless driving and guilty to underage possession of alcohol, failure to maintain lane and a window tint violation.
Etienne, who is the younger brother of former Clemson running back Travis Etienne, is expected to be Georgia's top back in the 2024 season after rushing for over 700 yards during both his freshman and sophomore seasons at Florida. The junior back ranked as the No. 3 running back transfer of the 2024 offseason, per 247Sports, slotting behind only Quinshon Judkins (Ole Miss to Ohio State) and Damien Martinez (Oregon State to Miami).
Etienne's suspension is a blow to Georgia's running back room. Roderick Robinson has been dealing with a case of turf toe that slowed him during preseason practice and has him out for Saturday's game as well. The door is open for Branson Robinson to play a significant role in the backfield against the Tigers, and same for Nate Frazier, a highly-touted running back from the Class of 2023.
Branson Robinson missed all of the 2023 season with a torn patellar tendon after amassing 330 yards on the ground as a freshman in 2022 but has received good reviews during preseason practice. In fact, Georgia's running back renaissance was one of the topics of fall camp among Bulldogs insiders, who compared Branson Robinson's physical abilities to Saquon Barkley.
Georgia was a 13.5-point favorite earlier in the week. Etienne's status being in doubt -- coach Kirby Smart declined to comment on his standing Monday -- is perhaps one reason the line is down to 12.5 as of Saturday morning.
