We are on commitment watch as Trevor Etienne of Jennings, Louisiana, is set to make his pledge for the 2022 class. The younger brother of Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne narrowed down his list to Clemson, Florida, and the in-state LSU Tigers. Etienne will commit to his new team on Jan. 8.
The Clemson Tigers does make a lot of sense due to the fact that his brother won a national championship there with Dabo Swinney and Trevor Lawrence. LSU makes sense due to them being in the state he played high school football. And then we have the Florida Gators who hired former ULL head coach Billy Napier. He knows the recruiting grounds and likely why Etienne is looking at the Orange and Blue.
According to the latest crystal ball predictions from 247Sports, it appears that he is likely to pledge to the Gators. A knife right to the back of the LSU football team that is still looking for a running back commitment to their less than stellar 2022 recruiting class.
It isn’t just the recruiting analysts at 247Sports that have Etienne to the Gators either. On3 has the four-star running back at 95.3% to Florida. This might mean that Brian Kelly and associate head coach Frank Wilson will have to shift their sights elsewhere in the 2022 class if they want to add a running back.
The Tigers are also competing with division rivals Auburn for Lake Charles running back TreVonte’ Citizen. He originally committed to LSU on Jul. 19 and backed off his pledge on Nov. 28. LSU has remained in the hunt but the Auburn Tigers and Texas Longhorns among others have stayed in contact. Feels as though this will come down to the battle of the Tigers.
For as much talent as is in the transfer portal, running back isn’t one of them. The top guys are slated to join Alabama (Jahmyr Gibbs) and Ole Miss (Zach Evans). It won’t be the worse thing if the Tigers don’t land a running back in this class as they do have options with John Emery Jr, Corey Kiner, Armoni Goodwin, and Josh Williams among others.
It likely would put an emphasis on the 2023 class where the Tigers have offered a total of seven backs, three of which are ranked among the top five at the position. Top Louisiana running back hails from Baton Rouge with four-star Kaleb Jackson of Liberty Magnet.
List
The Morning After: What is next for LSU football?
Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.
Follow Patrick on Twitter: @PatrickConnCFB