Kirby Smart Consider Resigning $97 Million RB Trevor Etienne After Arrest Release To Run On A Year Contract For 2024 Season…
In the early hours of Sunday morning, Georgia transfer running back Trevor Etienne, brother of NFL running back Travis Etienne, was arrested on multiple charges, which included drunken driving.
Athens-Clarke County police arrested Etienne on charges of drunk driving, failure to maintain a lane, and affixing materials that reduce visibility through the windows or windshield, according to jail records.
The arrest happened just before 2 a.m. local time near the University of Georgia, which saw Etienne booked at 4:35 a.m. local time. He was shortly released on bail, which totaled roughly $1,800.
“We are aware of the charges and are currently in the process of gathering additional information,” Steven Drummond, Georgia’s executive associate athletic director told The Associated Press in a statement. “This is a pending legal matter and we will not have further comment at this time.”
The timing of this is far from ideal. Spring football practice began on March 12, which has seen Etienne lobby for the starting running back job, as Kirby Smart had alluded to in the early practices.
“Getting comfortable in the offense, there are nuances,” Smart said of Etienne. “I have met with him about it. There are differences in the way we do things offensively that he is picking up on. He is very bright. That is not going to be a problem for him.”
According to Georgia’s team policy, Etienne could face a one-game suspension if charged with a DUI. The team opens its season against Clemson on Aug. 31, a game that could be crucial in Etienne sealing a potential starting role with the program.
Driving under the influence has been a notable struggle for Georgia, and Smart has previously relayed the fact that he struggles to find ways to ensure his players are driving safely.
While the Michigan Wolverines are clearly leaning toward offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore as their new head coach, one big name is still being linked to the job.
There has been some buzz that LSU coach Brian Kelly could have interest in the Michigan job. It is unclear, however, if Michigan would have any interest in speaking to Kelly.
Bruce Feldman of The Athletic mentioned Kelly as a possible candidate, saying he has heard “a lot of chatter” that the LSU coach would be very interested in the job if he had a chance at it. Kelly spent roughly 15 years coaching at Grand Valley State and Central Michigan, so he is familiar with the state. There is also talk that he has not been an ideal fit in Baton Rouge.
Dennis Dodd of CBS Sports also named Kelly as a potential replacement for Harbaugh, noting that the Wolverines could match Kelly’s hefty salary.
There are drawbacks, however. Feldman noted Kelly’s perceived inauthenticity, which would be a major contrast with how Harbaugh presents himself. In addition, Moore, who is the heavy favorite for the job, is preferred by the players, and there is a risk of some Michigan players entering the transfer portal with an external hire like Kelly.
Kelly arrived at LSU two years ago to much fanfare, but has failed to break through into the College Football Playoff and has been overhauling his staff this offseason. He may not get the Michigan job, but it is interesting that his name is coming up at all for openings like these.
LSU pays big money for new defensive coordinator
LSU has hired a new defensive coordinator, and they’re paying big money for him.
LSU on Friday hired Blake Baker as their new defensive coordinator. The Tigers are paying Baker $2.5 million per year on a three-year deal.
The hiring of Baker comes two days after LSU let go defensive coordinator Matt House, who was on the job for two years. The program also fired three other assistants this week.
Baker will be making his return to LSU after coaching linebackers for the program in 2021. Baker was not retained by Brian Kelly when the former Notre Dame coach took over at LSU. Baker was initially hired as a safeties coach at Missouri but got promoted to defensive coordinator when Steve Wilks left for the NFL.
Missouri went 11-2 this season and allowed 20.8 points per game (26th of 133). LSU had its second straight 10-win season under Kelly this year, but their defense allowed 28.0 points per game (82nd of 133).
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Kirby Smart Q&A: After a near miss at history last season, what’s next for Georgia..
ATHENS, Ga. — When Kirby Smart returned to his alma mater in 2016, there was no ambiguity about his mission as Georgia’s football coach.
He wasn’t there to restore Georgia to annual top 25 status or to average 10 wins a season or even to end the Bulldogs’ SEC championship drought. He was there to win national championships.
In eight seasons under Smart, Georgia has won two CFP titles, played for a third and won 13 or more games in each of the past three seasons.
Now that Nick Saban has retired, Smart is unquestionably tops among college football coaches, and his program is the envy of the sport. The Bulldogs are the only team to have finished in the top seven in the final AP poll in each of the past seven seasons. The only season they didn’t under Smart was his first as coach in 2016. And with Saban gone, Smart is unbeaten against all active head coaches over the past five seasons.
Much like his former boss, Smart isn’t too keen on talking about the past. His team won an SEC-record 29 straight games before losing to Alabama in the conference championship game last season and missing the College Football Playoff. That gut-wrenching 27-24 loss ended Georgia’s quest to become the first team since Minnesota in 1934 to 1936 to win three straight national championships.
The Bulldogs are in the middle of their ninth spring practice under Smart, and he sat down with ESPN to discuss everything from his mindset coming off last year’s near miss at history, his approach to fighting complacency, his take on the identity of this year’s Georgia team, his feelings about facing Alabama without Saban and the ever-changing landscape of college football.
As you walked off the field last season in Atlanta following the loss to Alabama, did you think there was still a chance you might get into the playoff?
I don’t know. I hoped. I know we should have, that we were one of the best four teams, so I hoped there was a way. I guess deep down, I knew we probably weren’t, though, with everything set up the way it was. We had our chance to take it out of the committee’s hands and didn’t get it done.
What were your emotions that next day watching the selection show when the realization set in that you weren’t going to be playing for a third national championship?
It was still hard swallowing the pill that you weren’t in and had accomplished all we did as a team. But once I swallowed it, I moved on, and our team moved on. That’s the way we’ve always operated around here. You focus on what’s in front of you and get better. You don’t sit around and mope about what might have been or should have been.
Bowl games have become a season unto themselves, especially with all the opt-outs among players, but what did it say about your program the way you bounced back from the SEC championship game disappointment and decimated Florida State 63-3 in the Orange Bowl with most of your key players electing to play?
I was proud of our guys, proud of the way our season finished because of our response against Florida State. That made it much easier for me. It made me realize this huge investment we put into the culture of our team, the love we had for each other. The loss to Alabama, as bad as it was, gave us an opportunity to shine this light, ‘That you know what, these bowl games matter, winning matters, finishing matters.’ Our kids showed the kind of competitive character we pride ourselves on. They stuck around and finished the job.