Former Clemson Tigers star running back Travis Etienne was selected by the Jacksonville Jaguars in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft, but he missed his entire rookie season after sustaining a foot injury. He bounced back with 1,125 rushing yards in his second season, but it sounds like the team is expecting even more from that this year.
During an interview this week, Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson made it clear that Travis Etienne has already grown a lot as a running back and he believes Etienne will continue to grow this offseason.
“We’ve seen it this offseason; he’s progressed nicely there,” Pederson told Jaguars.com. “Once we get the pads on and we start in our run periods, we’ll see how he’ll see the hole better. It just goes back to last year being kind of a rookie season for him. It’s like in the pass game: There’s a lot to learn, a lot to know and understand and, he’s really picked it up well. I’m excited for him for this year and what he can do, and even more to build off last year.”
Etienne’s running backs coach Bernie Parmalee thinks there is more in store for Etienne, as well.
“There’s a lot more – a lot more,” Parmalee said. “We talked about it every day. He knows it, too. It’s one thing when you talk about it as a coach and the player doesn’t realize it. But when the player realizes what you’re talking about is true and he’s going to do everything he has to do to make sure he gets better, it’s going to bode well.”
