Travis Etienne, the ACC’s career leader in rushing yards and touchdowns while playing for Clemson, views his younger brother as a different running back heading into Saturday’s Georgia football game against Florida.

Not just because Trevor Etienne is playing for the Bulldogs instead of the Gators.

“He’s having a good season,” Travis Etienne, in his fourth season with the Jaguars, told the Athens Banner-Herald. “He’s much improved in a lot of areas which is really good to see. He’s just got to keep going out there and make plays and just continue to be consistent and I feel like as the season keeps going on, he’ll find ways to get better. Hopefully, he’ll be in the playoffs and the whole world will get a chance to see him play.”

Trevor Etienne joined a program that won national titles in 2021 and 2022 and went 13-1 in 2023.

Coach Kirby Smart plucked Etienne from the Bulldogs’ rival out of the transfer portal after Etienne was part of teams that went 6-7 and 5-7.

How Georgia football running back Trevor Etienne grew in his brother's shadow

He’s the Bulldogs’ featured back after sharing carries at Florida with Montrell Johnson.

Etienne is coming off his best game as a Bulldog. The 5-foot-9, 205-pound junior rushed for 87 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries in a 30-15 win at then No. 1 Texas.

“Trevor's brought a bunch of juice to the offense,” tight end Lawson Luckie said. “I think that was his coming out game, but we've known how good Trevor is for a long time now. I'm glad that he's showing the world that now."

Travis, 25, has watched Trevor, 20, from Pee-Wee ball to middle school to high school in their hometown of Jennings, La.

“We didn’t have much to do besides play sports,” Travis said. “Our parents just kept us heavily involved in sports. He would come to my football games but he would never watch me. He would just go play own his own football out in a little field with other kids.”

On Saturday, Etienne will again play in the stadium Travis calls home with the Jags.

Travis Etienne missed his first season in 2021 with a foot injury, but rushed for 2,133 and 16 touchdowns combined the next two.

A hamstring injury sidelined him the last two games. The Jaguars are at Philadelphia Sunday.

Their mother, Donnetta, missed Georgia’s game at Texas because she was in London where the Jaguars played.

Trevor flashed a heart signal in a postgame TV interview when that was mentioned and said into the camera: “Love you!" He then let out a “Go Jags! Duuuval!”

Travis said he got to see his brother in person before their seasons. They regularly keep in touch via text messages.

“We check on each other, how we’re feeling and stuff like that,” Travis said. “We definitely make sure each other is motivated and ready to go.”

Etienne is seventh in the SEC in rushing yards per game and has run for 422 yards and seven touchdowns this season. He rushed for 719 and 753 yards the past two seasons at Florida.

Smart has praised Etienne’s vision and how he makes cuts, saying he reminds him of Sony Michel and D’Andre Swift.

“He's talented, he's intelligent, he's a level-headed kid, he’s a good leader and a great kid,” Smart said. “I think those qualities help anybody play, but he's older than a freshman. He came into a system that's not that far off from the one he was in in terms of offense. ... So, I think he transitioned well.”

Travis said his brother is more decisive in his pass protection and is being utilized more as a pass-catcher.

He has 20 catches for 130 yards after having 21 for 172 all of last season for Florida.

“They’re just using his skill-set a little more than the last two years,” Travis said.

Travis said he noticed when he was at Clemson that he saw growth in his brother, a four-star prospect.

“I set the bar for him,” Travis said. “I gave him the blueprint. He understands he’s his own person. We’re not the same. We’re family at the end of the day so it’s healthy competition.”

“I’ve definitely learned a lot,” Trevor said. “Just learned how to stay in the game, learned how to become a student of the game. …He always tells me don’t worry about leaving a legacy, live a legacy. That’s something I try to take with me and I carry that with me through life.”

Trevor Etienne: Georgia 'felt like the place I needed to be'

Travis was there to offer support when Trevor was arrested in March for DUI, which led to him being suspended for the opener against Clemson.

“He knew he made a mistake,” Travis said. “It happened, her learned from it, he moved on. There’s no sense of dwelling on the past because you can’t change it.”

Travis said he told Trevor to make the best decision for him and not worry about what others said before he transferred to Georgia.

“It felt like the place I needed to be,” Trevor Etienne said.

Etienne, who was not made available for interviews this week, said in mid-September about Florida: “Wishing them nothing but the best. They’ve struggled early on, but hopefully they can get things going in the right direction down there.”

On Saturday, Etienne will do his part for Georgia on the other side of the rivalry.

“He’s got to go out there and do his job,” Travis said. “He’s got to go out there and try to get that first victory in that rivalry.”

This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: Travis Etienne on brother Trevor returning to Jacksonville with Georgia