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Time to take a looksie at one of the top names in the class.
#BeardFilmSesh #5
Travis Etienne - RB, Clemson
5'10" 205 lbs
Back-to-back 1,600 rush yard seasons '18-'19
4,952 college rushing yards, all-time ACC leader
He has a hell of a resumé. Let's dive in, shall we?
#BeardFilmSesh #5 Travis Etienne - RB, Clemson
5'10" 205 lbs
Back-to-back 1,600 rush yard seasons '18-'19
4,952 college rushing yards, all-time ACC leader
He has a hell of a resumé. Let's dive in, shall we?
Firstly, I know it was a weird year for Clemson, but Etienne averaged 7.8 YPC in 2019, 8.1 YPC in 2018, and 7.2 YPC his freshman year in 2017. This year, he averaged 5.4. Plenty respectable, but that's a pretty big drop.
Travis also climbed from 37 receptions in 15 games last year to 48 receptions in 12 games this year, further solidifying his receiving resumé.
Man there is a lot of film on Travis. Gotta love that. (Thanks @DynastyNerds!)
Let's start with his 2020 playoff matchup with Ohio State. Not a great day statistically, so let's figure out why. 10 carries, 32 yards, 1 TD, with 4 receptions for 64 yards as well.
Let's start with his 2020 playoff matchup with Ohio State. Not a great day statistically, so let's figure out why. 10 carries, 32 yards, 1 TD, with 4 receptions for 64 yards as well.
More receiving work. Shows good looseness in his hips and is a downhill runner once he has the ball in his hands.
The defense rallies to the ball so fast here. Really wasn't anywhere for him to go. Tight end Braden Galloway (#88) straight up clotheslines the DB and gets away with it.
Nice play design. I will say that Etienne does this weird thing where he slows down a lot to brace for contact, and kind turns his body away like he's shying away from the defender. I've seen it a couple times now, and will keep watching for it.
Bad defense here. Travis pretty much just has to duck and run straight into the end zone. The OL is in no-man's-land on the RPO and doesn't commit to either TLaw or Travis.
Why did he pop up and stand so tall in the hole? Get low and drive the legs.
Dude you're killing me. This is an option. If Lawrence doesn't hand the ball to you, you know he's running with it. Go block someone! Lack of effort will piss me off every single time.
Pretty good downhill speed, but there may have been a cutback off the blocker at the second level that was missed. Bounce that outside. Again, his feet stop when he gets hit. I'm getting concerned.
Man, #88 had a bad day blocking. That said, Etienne again tries to do this weird little skip/shuffle/euro step with contact. I don't like it.
Etienne does know that he can run in more directions than just straight, right?
HELL of a blitz pickup. That rep is a win.
And that's it for that game. Next I'm going to watch the film from their game against Miami - this was his best statistical game of the year. 17 carries, 149 yards, 2 TDs. 8 receptions, 73 yards.
This is now officially a trend, and I don't like it. Again, he braces and turns his body before impact. I'm incredibly. concerned from a performance standpoint, but also very worried that he's going to get himself seriously hurt.
Looks like a carbon copy of the play from Ohio State. When he gets the ball on the edge, he runs in a straight line until he feels contact, then goes down.
Show me something lateral. Anything. I beg you.
I promise I'm not just trying to find bad plays, but again, he stops his feet when there's going to be contact.
When it's blocked up perfectly and he has a lane to go through, Etienne can find some space. There's a hat on a hat downfield and all he has to do is run straight, which he's good at.
Alright this is one of the better plays I've seen from him tonight. Runs into the back of his lineman (shocking), keeps his balance and scoots around the corner.
Seriously, STOP WITH THE STUTTER STEP PIROUETTE THING AT CONTACT. All I can think about is someone like Tyrann Mathieu flying downhill and lighting his ass up.
And again.
Had to step away and get a pot of chili going. Okay, back to it.
So here he does his same "brace for impact" spin thingy but the defender somehow misses. I swear he was surprised that he wasn't tackled.
I swear, 90% of the time, Etienne gets the ball, picks what line he's going to run on, and doesn't move off of it until he's tackled or runs out of bounds.
Etienne finally shows his best skill here, and that's speed. When it's blocked up for him, the guy is fast. A little stutter step down the sideline and that DB paused just enough for him to get by him. I'll be honest though, that safety effed up.
Why did that safety break down like that? You know Etienne isn't going to cut back.
Okay, I need to do more. I'm waiting to be impressed but it isn't going well. Let's do 2020 against Wake Forest. It's *insert italics* Wake Forest. Hopefully this looks good.
Good lord man, TURN. CHANGE COURSE.
Stop me if you've heard this one. Etienne runs in a straight line, gets exactly what is blocked for him, and is tackled on first contact.
Finally, a little bounce to the outside. It only takes playing against a terribly inferior opponent for us to see it. Listen, when he does change direction, he's fast. No denying it. But he's been able/had the vision to do that like 10% of the runs that I've watched.
"Lead blocker Travis Etienne" should never be a thing.
Runs in a straight line, tries to spin at contact, manages to keep his balance for a couple extra yards. Unoriginal, and looks like every other effing run I've seen tonight. Good lord.
Straight line, as it's blocked, doesn't dare alter. At least he has a mild jump cut in the hole on this one, so kudos for that.
Wow, while running in a straight line he actually bends his path a little, and actually makes a defender miss downfield. May wonders never cease.
Bro you have to try something other than leap from three yards away. Damn lucky not to fumble.
I fully understand that the blocking was terrible and that this defender was waiting for him in the backfield. I don't expect any RB to do much with this. But at least keep your feet moving. Etienne might be one of the easiest to tackle RBs in this draft class. He just... stops.
He literally. Could. Not. Turn.
And that's about all. Didn't do much in the second half. I think they pulled their starters in this one. Okay I'm going to do one more, and I'm going to go back to 2019 to see if it's any different. Let's do 2019 vs Ohio State.
Literally the first play, he takes a toss on an option and runs in a straight line until the safety blows him up. Okay, so it wasn't just a 2020 thing.
Good lord, he does the same thing on kick return. Runs in a straight line, breaks down, and gets hammered.
Etienne cannot get anything that isn't blocked for him. He gets tackled on first contact almost every single time.
Alright Travis, this is the best run I've seen for him. A little hand jockeying, fights off the defender, turns upfield and punches it in. This is the 39th video I've clipped, and it's the first one I've really liked. That's not a good ratio.
Every once in a while, when all the blocking is good, a straight line can work. This is one of those times. Also, it looks like Etienne may have had a little more burst in 2019 than 2020.
2019 vs UNC. The "I hate contact so I spin away from it" palooza bites him in the ass. Color me shocked.
"I run straight until someone hits me and then I fall down."
Again, someone explain to me why a running back would back into a tackler, other than out of fear. I just don't get it.
