Prospect Play: Travis Etienne, Part One

Ray Garvin Posted On November 22, 2019

The Prospect Play series is a quick film session that highlights specific traits and attributes from potential soon-to-be NFL Stars. Anybody can post the highlight reel plays; come take a look at some of the lesser-known plays that make these college prospects devy and dynasty talents.

Travis Etienne, RB Clemson

Etienne entered the 2019 season as a preseason First Team All-American. This accolade came after one of the most productive and efficient statistical seasons for a college running back in the last decade. He absolutely tore up college football as the unquestioned starter in 2018, rushing for 1,658 yards and 24 touchdowns on 204 carries. Expectations were sky-high for him this season as one of the top-rated running backs in the devy/dynasty community.

In this edition of the Prospect Play series, we’ll be taking a detailed looked at his performances from weeks one-three of his junior campaign. The goal is to highlight some of the key attributes he displayed week-to-week throughout his draft-eligible season.

The Stats (Weeks one-three)

screen shot 2019 11 22 at 08.27.46

Statistics from sports-reference.com.

Etienne kicked off the season in spectacular fashion, rushing for 205 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries versus Georgia Tech. He followed that up with back-to-back games with fewer than 80 rushing yards versus Texas A&M University and Syracuse. However, he did show very well in pass-catching situations in those games.

One of his biggest weakness was his lack of receiving production. Coming into the season he had only caught a grand total of 17 passes in two seasons. He added tremendous fuel to the fire before this season began by announcing that he got nervous in pass-catching situations. Through the first three games of this season, he had already registered eight receptions, showing improvement to this area of his game. Check out the breakdown below.

Prospect Film Breakdown

https://youtu.be/9vb7iqRGvTM

Play Summary

This breakdown really highlights Etienne’s big-play ability. He is a homerun threat each and every time he touches the football. His long speed isn’t something we have ever questioned, just like his contact balance. The play versus Syracuse is one of many examples throughout his career where he displays this elite level trait. I’ve made the comparison to Alvin Kamara when it comes to this aspect of his game.

What was really impressive to me, was how comfortable he looked in the receiving game. This is what he had to show in order to solidify him as one of the top runners in this class. Eight receptions in three games for a running back who hadn’t really demonstrated this skill-set is outstanding. I still would like to see more wiggle and agility to his game as I dive deeper into his film. Stay tuned for part two of Etienne’s game and more of the top 2020-eligible prospects coming soon!