Georgia was in a tighter contest against Kentucky than many expected. As Kirby Smart will say, winning on the road in the SEC is quite difficult and his team pushed to the final drive. Scoring just 13 points, there were not too many offensive bright points but running back Trevor Etienne was one of them.

Branson Robinson was the one to score Georgia’s lone touchdown of the night. However, it was Etienne who did most of the work throughout the drive. Smart knows how critical the former Florida back was for his team on that possession, saying he has “respect” for the game Etienne put together.

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“He made something out of nothing about eight times,” Smart said during his postgame press conference. “Some of those were the best runs we’ve had all year because people stand in the hole unblocked and he’s making them miss and getting extra yards. A lot of respect for how he played.”

Etienne finished the night with 79 yards on 19 carries. The drive mentioned by Smart was where 40 of those yards occurred. You can go ahead and add his lone reception of the contest too, going for 11 yards to give Georgia a fresh set of downs.

On a 3rd and 2 from the three-yard line, Etienne subbed out of the game and Robinson took his spot in the backfield. Ultimately, Robinson got the job done in what wound up being the deciding score and Georgia was able to head back to Athens with a win. A nice moment for Robinson but Etienne did not go unnoticed by his head coach.

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This was just the second game of the season for Etienne after being suspended in the season opener against Clemson. Not much of an impact was made against Tennessee Tech, with Georgia taking care of business quite easily against the FCS opponent. Saturday was the running back’s first real chance to make an impact on his new team.

Smart will need more from him moving forward, especially if other areas of the offense are struggling. Georgia’s next game will be in a hostile environment, traveling to Tuscaloosa for what should be a top-five showdown against the Alabama Crimson Tide.

At some point, you know Etienne’s number will be called. The Bulldogs sideline will be hoping the same impact can be made as he did against Kentucky. Not a bad way to introduce yourself to the fanbase.

The post Kirby Smart prasies Trevor Etienne for performance in tight win vs. Kentucky appeared first on On3.