If one were to poll Florida Football fans about the state of the running back room in 2024, most would feel good about the unit. Montrell Johnson has been solid when healthy, while Jadan Baugh and Ja'Kobi Jackson have been hard-running and unafraid of contact.
The latter two are getting their chance in 2024 largely because of the individual who will be getting the bulk of the carries for Georgia on Saturday. And the perception of losing that player in the first place is symbolic of where Florida is at in 2024, even if his production has been mostly replaced.
Florida Football: The New Normal
When Trevor Etienne hit the transfer portal at the end of last season and wound up committing to Georgia, we noted at the time that even if one wanted to buy into the narrative that running back production is replaceable, his departure was part of a deeper problem facing Napier entering the 2024 campaign.
Etienne was hand-picked by Napier while he was still a three-star prospect by On3 and 247 and was given snaps right away as a freshman. Etienne increased his workload to 131 carries his sophomore year for 753 yards and eight touchdowns. Had he stayed in Gainesville, Etienne would have probably had a similar snap count and, given the injury to Johnson, would have been the featured back at times.
But despite a guaranteed role in 2024, Etienne looked at the coach who brought him up and decided to go elsewhere.
When asked about Etienne, Napier deflected on Monday by saying:
"Yeah, well, it's become the norm of college football. It's already happened a handful of times this year that we played against players on the other side that were on our team in the past. Look, feels like there is a story each week about scenarios like that. It wasn't the first and won't be the last, unfortunately."
And while transfers are the new normal for every program in college football, having entrenched key players transfer to rival programs isn't.
Etienne was graded by 247 Sports as the 35th-best transfer prospect in 2024. Of the 34 guys ahead of him, eleven left a program that had its head coach leave, nine others left for a program that was a clear and obvious upgrade, and of the 14 others, the bulk of those guys left for programs where they thought they could get significantly more playing time.
Of those 34 guys, five of them, at best, transferred to a program you could consider a rival.
Very few fit the profile of Etienne and left a brand-name Power Four program where they were getting significant playing time to transfer to a rival school for a small to moderate uptick in playing time.
"But Ben, Florida sucks. Etienne just wants to win."
That's the point.
Napier sank Florida to the point where even his starters jumped ship ahead of 2024. To his credit, the current roster appears to have been bought in, and Napier didn't have anyone opt out to save a red shirt.
But we started writing that narrative last season, too. Remember the Missouri game, where everyone looked like they were bought in? With that in mind, is there anyone currently on the roster Gator fans are willing to place a large bet on that will 100% still be here in 2025?
So, while Baugh and Jackson have been solid backs in their own right, and Florida's offense is performing at about the same level it would have with or without Etienne, part of the problem for Napier is when reality creates a negative perception of the program.
The reality is that going 15-17 creates the revolving door of players, not vice versa.
And until Florida starts winning more on the field, seeing players like Etienne suit up for rivals is going to be the new normal in Gainesville.