LSU Football: Tigers miss on in-state 4-star recruit, but fans shouldn’t be concerned
By Zach Ragan
LSU Football missed on one of the top 2022 players in Louisiana on Saturday.
2022 four-star running back Trevor Etienne committed to the Florida Gators on Saturday. He picked UF over LSU and Clemson (Etienne’s older brother, Travis, played at Clemson).
Etienne, 5-foot-9/218 lbs from Jennings, LA, is ranked in 247Sports’ composite rankings as the No. 15 running back in the country and the No. 14 player in Louisiana. He’s also ranked as the No. 183 overall player in the 2022 recruiting class.
Missing on Etienne feels a lot like when the Tigers missed on his older brother in 2017. LSU had a few running backs ahead of Travis Etienne on their recruiting board. When they missed on those running backs, they pivoted to Travis. But it was too late. He was already sold on Clemson.
Similarly, the Tigers had several running backs ahead of Trevor Etienne on their recruiting board during this cycle. Those players, however, have either committed to or signed with other programs.
Le’Veon Moss signed with Texas A&M, while Branson Robinson signed with Georgia. TreVonte Citizen appears destined for either Auburn, Miami, or Michigan State.
The difference with Trevor Etienne is that LSU never made a strong run at him — even after they missed on some of their other targets.
LSU Football just wasn’t feeling Trevor Etienne
According to 247Sports‘ Shea Dixon, the Tigers never “turned up the heat” on Etienne.
“LSU’s previous staff nor the new one ever turned up the heat here after handing out an offer earlier in his process,” wrote Dixon.
The 247Sports writer also added that Etienne’s family likes the idea of having both Travis and Trevor in the same area (Travis plays for the Jacksonville Jaguars — not far from Gainesville).
Is it possible that LSU regrets “passing” on Etienne?
Absolutely. But that’s always the risk in recruiting. The Tigers couldn’t recruit Trevor harder just because of Travis.
If the staff doesn’t 100 percent believe in Etienne, then they did the right thing by passing on him.
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Time will tell if that was the right decision.