Why Travis Etienne Doesn't Regret Missing the Urban Meyer Era

The former first-round pick had to miss his entire rookie season, but he offered an optimistic perspective on Tuesday.

All Travis Etienne could do was smile and laugh it off. 

After all, that is the best way to deal with a rookie season that went sideways in more ways than one. Not only did Etienne lose his entire rookie year to a Lisfranc injury he sustained in just the second preseason game, but his introduction to the NFL came at the expense of one of the most dysfunctional environments in recent NFL history.

“Just seeing the results you definitely are like, if there was any year to miss, I missed a great one,” Etienne said on Tuesday with a smile as the Jaguars' week of voluntary offseason workouts began. 

"That is just the human element of it."

#Jaguars RB Travis Etienne on if he had a different perspective on last year being away, and if he's glad he didn't have to go through *that*.

"If there was any year to miss, I missed a great one"

🎥credit: https://t.co/fIdtZDPTvR pic.twitter.com/6bFhdRck9I

— Demetrius Harvey (@Demetrius82) April 12, 2022

The always-upbeat Etienne had quite a different year than his peers in the locker room, especially fellow rookie and former Clemson Tiger Trevor Lawrence. While Etienne was able to make it through training camp, his injury just weeks before Week 1 meant he was set to spend the entire 18-week season on his own rehabbing. 

No battling with his teammates each Sunday. No going through the intense highs and lows of the 2021 season, a year in which the Jaguars started 0-5 and went 3-14. No experiencing his first game as a pro.

“I feel like I was looking at it from a fan standpoint,” Etienne said Tuesday. “Just being here every day. I felt I was a fan who was in the room with the players, basically. So I definitely had a different standpoint, perspective standpoint.”

But on top of all of the negatives, there was the positive; Etienne was able to mostly avoid the Urban Meyer disaster. Etienne's career was kickstarted by Meyer proclaiming him as a "slash" player and third-down back who would cross-train at both running back and wide receiver. 

But Etienne and Meyer were never able to put that plan into action, even in the preseason. Etienne flashed throughout training camp, but his foot injury and subsequent surgery meant he was placed behind the scenes of the most drama-filled season in franchise history. 

On one hand, Etienne had to rehab mostly in silence as he saw his teammates fight each week. But on the other hand, he was able to miss the day-to-day dysfunction and overall chaos that Meyer brought to the franchise, a mess so disastrous that it led to Lawrence and several of the team's top players having seasons well below their standards and expectations. 

"The most difficult part is just the time, just how long it takes to actually get back to yourself and just knowing how far the season is away," Etienne said. 

"I would say the day to day. I had to fall in love with the mundane, so I would say just waking up every day knowing that where you want to be, you’re not going to get there today and just put in that work. I would say just fall in love with the mundane.”

Etienne didn't have the rookie year he expected. But he did manage to miss the entirety of the Meyer debacle, as well as grow as a professional off the field. And for those reasons, it is hard to imagine Etienne has any regret over missing the Meyer era.

“Just the stuff away from the game, just being a pro. I feel like what I learned is that I don’t think I ever took the game serious," Etienne said. "Well, I took it serious[ly], but I don’t feel like I really appreciated everything the game had to offer. And I feel like being away from it, you appreciate how great the game is, the opportunity to play in the National Football League."

"Just growing up as a kid, going to school each and every day, my teacher always asked me what I wanted to be, and I would say an engineer or something just because I didn’t want them to talk down on my dreams. So, finally getting here and seeing that it’s possible for you to do that and play football for money, it’s crazy.”