Travis Etienne could’ve been a 1st-round NFL pick. Why he returned to Clemson instead
Clemson running back Travis Etienne was back home in Jennings, Louisiana and playing the NBA 2K20 video game with a couple of his friends in mid-January. That’s when a specific piece of advice from one of them stood out.
Etienne and Clemson had just lost the national championship game to LSU earlier in the week, and the Tigers star running back was contemplating his future. He could opt to enter the 2020 NFL, where he had received a grade to go late in the first round or early in the second. Or, he could pass on the NFL and return to school for one more season of college football and earn his degree.
The 5-foot-10, 210-pound speedster was leaning toward coming back to Clemson but hadn’t fully decided until his friend from back home said something that made the choice an easy one.
“He kind of just dropped the bomb on me,” Etienne explained following spring practice Monday.
“He was like, ‘Whatever you did to make the decision to go to Clemson, use that same thought process,’” Etienne recalled. “It just clicked right there that I knew what I needed to do, and that was coming back and getting my degree.”
Etienne sat on his decision for a few days before announcing on Friday, Jan. 17 that he would be returning for his senior season.
“I knew what I was about to do like Tuesday. I was just kind of milking the system. That way I could just not go to class, kind of take a break, give my body a rest. I just kind of sat around, played 2K,” Etienne said. “My mom asked me once a day if I was sure about my decision. Talked to my grandma. Just kind of talked to different people, getting insight into different things. Kind of contemplated on it. But I kind of knew my decision early and kind of just milked the whole thing.”
The news stunned the college football world but not Dabo Swinney. Etienne had told Clemson’s head coach before the Fiesta Bowl against Ohio State that there was a strong chance he was coming back. And so Swinney was thrilled, but not surprised, when he got the official word.
“He was pumped up to tell me,” Swinney said. “He’s enjoyed his time. I think that for him, if he leaves here as a second-rounder next year, he’ll do cartwheels. But he’s got his degree. He feels like he’s a little more ready. He feels complete. I just think leaving early for him, as a second-rounder, I think he felt a little incomplete.”
Etienne is already one of the most decorated players in Clemson history.
He holds the ACC and school records with 56 rushing touchdowns and 60 total touchdowns, and Etienne has twice been named the ACC Player of the Year. He has also finished in the top 10 in Heisman Trophy voting each of the past two years, and he has a chance to be a Heisman finalist in 2020.
The opportunity to collect some more hardware, both personally and as a team, while also earning his degree, was too much to pass up.
“Sat down with my parents and just thought about what we really thought mattered the most when it’s all said and done, when we look back on my playing career, not just football as a whole,” Etienne said. “Just trying to leave a legacy and just trying to be remembered forever. I felt like coming back gives me that chance just to be one of the all-time greats here and just in college football.”
Etienne certainly has aspirations of improving his draft stock.
He wants to continue to get better as a pass catcher, proving that he can run routes like a receiver and make plays down field in the passing game, not just catch quick passes out of the backfield. Etienne finished third on Clemson’s team in receptions and receiving yards in 2019 with 37 catches for 432 yards.
He also wants to be more involved in special teams as a kick returner, and he has been fielding punts early on during spring practice.
“Coming back, (if I go) second round, at least I’ll have my degree,” Etienne said. “Leaving early for second round, it’s never been a dream of mine. I feel like I can do so much better than that. The NFL’s going to be there, so I wasn’t leaving for no second round draft grade.”
This story was originally published March 3, 2020 at 11:01 AM with the headline "Travis Etienne could’ve been a 1st-round NFL pick. Why he returned to Clemson instead."
