Behind the Scenes: How Travis Etienne Found His Way to Clemson

The former four-star running back from Jennings, Louisiana, committed to the Tigers over in-state LSU, Tennessee and Texas A&M after decommitting from the Aggies. Since his arrival in Clemson, he has gotten better and better every year. But his coach remembers when he arrived on campus, and that is how he still views, arguably, the greatest running back in Clemson history.

CLEMSON — Not many running backs have the kind of impact that running back Travis Etienne has had on the Clemson Tigers in his three years.

The former four-star running back from Jennings, Louisiana, committed to the Tigers over in-state LSU, Tennessee and Texas A&M after decommitting from the Aggies. Since his arrival in Clemson, he has gotten better and better every year. But his coach remembers when he arrived on campus, and that is how he still views, arguably, the greatest running back in Clemson history.

"I was looking through my phone at some pictures, and I had a picture from when I went to his high school to recruit him. And that's how I see Travis," offensive coordinator and running backs coach Tony Elliott said. "And I really haven't had a chance to slow down and appreciate what he's been able to do, because I'm coaching him up. He wants to get better. He wants to be pushed. He doesn't want to become complacent, content with what he's doing. He wants to continue to strive for excellence.

"But when you look at it in this day and age, to have an opportunity to put together those kinds of numbers, one, a lot of it's on him. But then two, it's those guys up front. It's really everybody on the offense. When you got all these pieces around you, it allows them not to just hone in on you, and you can take advantage of those opportunities."

Those numbers are nothing short of spectacular.

Etienne became the ACC’s all-time career leader in rushing touchdowns (54), total touchdowns (57) and points by a non-kicker (348). He earned ACC Player of the Year honors for the second straight season, becoming the first running back to collect the award in back-to-back seasons in more than four decades (Mike Voight in 1975-76). 

He's rushed for 1,500 yards in 2019 on 182 carries with 17 rushing touchdowns, and his snub from the Doak Walker Award finalist list was the subject of passionate discourse from head coach Dabo Swinney in the local and national media. Etienne's growth in the passing game was a focus of his in the offseason as well, evidenced now by his third-place rank on the team in receptions (29) and adding 298 yards and two scores in that capacity.

But anyone who followed recruiting understood the kind of back the Tigers were getting.

Etienne was one of the best running backs in the 2017 recruiting class and the final player taken by the Tigers. The former 13th best running back in the nation, according to ESPN, shunned Texas A&M and chose to come to Clemson with his final official visit in January.

But even with the Clemson visit coming only days after the Tigers secured their first national championship in 35 years, many believed the lure of playing for in-state LSU and being only an hour from home would be too much for Clemson to overcome.

That was, until Etienne committed to Clemson on television six days before National Signing Day by saying, “I’ll be taking my talents to the real Death Valley (Clemson).”

"It was crazy. So we had this situation with the young man that was committed, that kind of fell apart in late November, December," Elliott said. "We thought we were going to get a young man out of Florida, and so we were heading in that direction and he calls while we're at the national championship site and says, "Look, I'm going somewhere else." So I'm scrambling. So I'm looking at who's the top uncommitted running backs out there? And his name was there. So I talked to his coach. First and foremost, tell me what kind of kid is he? Would he have interest in Clemson? He says, 'Oh yeah, great kid. You need to get here as fast as you can.'

"So then I reached out to Travis, and literally I'm sitting in a movie theater. So this would be the equivalent of a Friday night before a Saturday game. I'm in the movie theater, I'm not even paying attention to the movie. I'm just DMing him on his Twitter. And he said, 'Coach, I've always loved Clemson, but our paths never crossed.' I said, 'Look, we're going to win this game and I'm coming to see you on Tuesday.' Flew down there and waited in line. LSU, Tennessee, several people were there to visit with him. He already had an official visit set up to Tennessee. I just waited my time. I had nowhere else to go, and just hit it off with him and his mom. And I think that they were looking, specifically, for the culture, and the environment, and the opportunity that we had here at Clemson.

Even though he waited to announce his decision, a phone call from Elliott the day after Clemson defeated Alabama made the decision for Etienne.

"When he contacted me, I felt like kind of a joke because after they just won a national championship, he's contacting me—a small kid from Jennings, Louisiana,” Etienne said. "That was kind of the breaking point for me, like this is meant to be—me going there."

While that phone call sealed in his mind where he wanted to play his college football, there was one thing the prospect could not share with his future coach: He thought Alabama would beat Clemson in 2016—and he was pulling for the Tide to beat the Tigers.

"Growing up, I was a Bama fan. Really, I was an SEC fan, a fan of the SEC, just growing up around there and I always rooted for them,” Etienne said. “After the recruiting process started, I started just watching teams and trying to put myself in their shoes because I felt like eventually it could be one of those.

"Me and my mom, we was in there. She was rooting for Clemson and I was like, 'They're not going to win because Bama is Bama, Mom.' So we kind of watched the game in separate rooms and then you heard her screaming when they scored the touchdown."

Now, three years later, Etienne has the benefit of playing for the team that has many people thinking the same way that he did in 2016—no one else is going to win because Clemson is Clemson.