Travis Etienne has no regrets about returning to Clemson

Clemson’s star running back had no intentions of opting out this season

College football has been the talk of sports this week, after the Big Ten, Pac-12 and Mountain West conferences all canceled the fall season due to concerns about the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Additionally, a variety of top players opted out of the season altogether due to COVID-19 concerns and to focus on the NFL Draft next April. Those aforementioned athletes include Miami’s Gregory Rousseau and Virginia Tech’s Caleb Farley.

Clemson running back Travis Etienne joined quarterback Trevor Lawrence by opting in for the 2020 season, that the ACC is still trying to run this fall. When speaking with the media on Friday, Etienne revealed that he was “100% opted in,” and said he made the decision to set an example for his family to let them know that some things are more important than making money.

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Etienne not concerned with the outside noise on social media

Following his junior campaign, Etienne wasted no time in announcing that he would return to Clemson for his senior year, despite being considered the best running back in all of college football. It was a shocking decision by some, but when you look at this year’s running back draft class, it was especially loaded. The 2021 class is pretty barren, with the exception being Oklahoma State’s Chuba Hubbard.

Etienne has won back-to-back ACC Player of the Year Awards mostly due to his video game-like statistics. Last season, Etienne rushed for 1,614 yards and 19 touchdowns on 204 carries, while catching 37 passes for 432 yards and four touchdowns.

Clemson is slated to start their season on Sept. 12 against Wake Forest, but that date as of now is tentative. The ACC has yet to make a final decision on playing this fall, but an announcement could be made in the coming days.

Whatever happens, Etienne has no regrets in returning to Clemson, season or no season.