Coach O’s 1st thoughts on LSU-Clemson: ‘Sick to my stomach’ on missing out on Etienne
LSU’s roster is filled with players from Louisiana, but the Tigers missed out on one Louisiana native who is now arguably Clemson’s best player.
Running back Travis Etienne, who is the back-to-back ACC Player of the Year, was recruited by LSU and head coach Ed Orgeron late in the 2016 season before signing with Clemson for the class of 2017.
Orgeron has a loaded roster and one of the best backs in the nation in Clyde Edwards-Helaire, but missing out on Etienne still haunts him, and he regularly hears from those questioning how Etienne got out of his home state.
“All the time. I wonder how it is,” Orgeron said Tuesday. “I know how it happened. And every time I watch Clemson play or every time I see him having success I’m sick to my stomach. Obviously we like our running backs and we have great running backs here, but we wanted Travis Etienne at the end, but it was too little too late.”
Etienne turned heads at Clemson immediately upon his arrival, earned significant snaps as a true freshman and has been a dominant force for the Tigers the past two years.
The Jennings, Louisiana native has 1,536 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns on the season and also had 32 catches for 396 yards and four scores. Etienne had three total touchdowns in Clemson’s Fiesta Bowl win over Ohio State and now has 57 for his career, which is an ACC and school record. The junior is likely to be a first or second round pick in the 2020 NFL draft if he turns pro following this season.
Orgeron was the interim head coach to close out the 2016 season, Etienne’s senior year of high school, and turned up the pursuit of Etienne after being named full-time head coach in late November.
“I was an assistant there and Travis kept on coming up, kept on coming up. For one reason or another we never offered him a scholarship,” Orgeron said. “I offered Travis really late as the interim. I had a home visit with him. I told him how much we wanted him. But it was too little too late then. He had made up his mind already. So it’s something that I think we should’ve done a better job of. We should’ve recruited him at an earlier age and like all great Louisiana backs we keep them in state. He’s the one that got away.”
LSU ended up signing Edwards-Helaire as its running back in the class of 2017 instead, and the junior has 199 carries for 1,304 yards and 16 touchdowns.
Also Tuesday:
▪ Orgeron said President Trump called him after the Peach Bowl. He was told the president was on the phone and thought it was the president of LSU, not the United States.
When is the CFP national championship game?
Who: Clemson vs. LSU
When: 8 p.m. Monday, Jan. 13
Where: Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans
TV: ESPN
Betting line: LSU by 5.5
This story was originally published December 31, 2019 at 12:11 PM with the headline "Coach O’s 1st thoughts on LSU-Clemson: ‘Sick to my stomach’ on missing out on Etienne."
