What Travis Etienne's Return Means for Clemson

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Two days ago, Friday 17th, Travis Etienne announced he is pushing back his dream of playing in the NFL for a year to come back to Clemson for his senior season. This was a somewhat surprising decision by Etienne and it will have a huge impact on Clemson next season. During Etienne’s first three seasons at Clemson, he rushed for 4038 yards and 56 touchdowns and had 567 receiving yards and 6 receiving touchdowns. The highlight of his career so far was the slaughtering of Alabama to win the national championship in 2018. It’s safe to say, Travis Etienne has been one of the best running backs in the country for the past two years. Here’s why Etienne made the right decision and what his return means for the Clemson Tigers’ 2020 season.

I wasn’t all that surprised about Travis Etienne’s decision to come back. I thought he would go pro, but to be completely honest, he’s probably the 4th best running back in this class. I’m a huge Ettiene fan, but he’s doesn’t have great vision and he doesn’t have good enough hands or route-running ability to be utilized as a receiver. Going back to Clemson gives Travis the chance to improve, compete for another championship, and enjoy the college experience so I understand why he would want to return for one more year. I couldn’t believe the amount of people on social media harshly criticizing Etienne’s decision to come back. I understand why people think Travis should go pro (Etienne is a projected 2nd round pick), but possibly being the best running back in the draft next year is worth waiting another year to go pro.

Travis Etienne returning is huge for the Clemson Tigers. His return easily makes the Clemson Tigers the front runner to win the title next year. After losing to LSU in the 2019 national championship, Clemson opened as the odds on favorite to win the national championship next season. The thing is these odds came out before Travis Etienne announced his return so I can only imagine how high the odds of Clemson winning the national championship are going to be. Facing the Tigers’ offense which features Trevor Lawrence (the favorite to win the Heisman), Travis Etienne, and Justyn Ross is going to be a nightmare for their opponents next year. Combine their star-studded offense with a defense featuring a very good front seven and you have a championship contender.

Watch out college football fans, Travis Etienne isn’t done just yet. He’s coming back for one more ride and he isn’t going to be denied again. Only one team can finish at the top and the path to the national championship may go through Travis Etienne and the Clemson Tigers.