Clemson RB Travis Etienne Surprisingly Announces He's Returning to School for Senior Season

The shelf life of running backs is notoriously short at the professional level, leading to a growing trend of collegiate stars at the position declaring for the NFL Draft as soon as humanly possible.

Travis Etienne is going against the grain.

With Clemson already seen as favorites to return to the College Football Playoff and perhaps win the National Championship in 2020, their star running back will return to the Tigers roster next season rather than taking a gamble this April.

Truth be told, there's not much Etienne can do for his NFL Draft stock entering his senior season. This is for bragging rights, only. Perhaps the Louisiana product felt he had unfinished business after a sour end to his junior year, and for that we can't blame him.

Etienne had 1,614 yards rushing and 19 touchdowns on the ground this season. He also made tremendous strides in the receiving game, notching 432 yards and four scores to benefit the likes of Trevor Lawrence. This was unheard of from Etienne entering this season, as he hadn't topped 100 yards through the air in either of his previous two campaigns.

We wish Etienne the best, and will reserve judgement on this decision until after his name is called in April of 2021.