Trevor Etienne, Shemar James earn Freshman All-SEC honors
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Florida running back Trevor Etienne and linebacker Shemar James both earned Freshman All-SEC honors, the conference announced Thursday. Etienne and James both were named College Football News Freshman All-American honorable mentions earlier this week.
Etienne ended the regular season with a career-high 129 rushing yards at Florida State on Nov. 25. The Jennings, Louisiana product has recorded 704 rushing yards this season, and is the fourth true freshman running back to surpass 700 rushing yards in Florida history, joining Emmitt Smith, Tony Green, and Fred Taylor. He leads all true freshman running backs who have at least 100 carries in yards per carry at 6.4.
“Definitely a bright future,” senior linebacker Ventrell Miller said of Etienne. “You see what he’s doing as a freshman, so it’s only up from here. I love watching him play, the big plays he does, and he had some. Definitely a slippery guy. Not the biggest guy so he might be a little tougher to tackle him. Like I said, he has a lot of speed so he could break away from you know. So, it’s been a pleasure watching him develop.”
James played in all 12 games for Florida this season, making three starts. His 40 tackles on the season are the second-most among SEC true freshmen linebackers and the sixth-most on the Gators. The Mobile, Alabama native is also tied for second in sacks and forced fumbles among SEC true freshmen. James posted a career-high eight tackles against Eastern Washington while recovering a fumble against South Florida on the game’s first possession.
Three Gators earned Freshman All-American honors
Offensive lineman, Austin Barber was named to the College Football News (CFN) Freshman All-American First Team, while running back Trevor Etienne and linebacker Shemar James earned CFN All-American honorable mention honors.
Barber, who was named the CFN Midseason Freshman All-American First Team on Oct. 19, has appeared in 12 games this season, making five starts at right tackle. The Jacksonville native is a part of a line has only allowed 15 sacks this season, which is second-least in the SEC and tied for 15th in the nation. He is ranked 22nd among all offensive tackles by Pro Football Focus (PFF) with a grade of 80.7.
The Gators have rushed for 213.7 yards per game, the 16th most in the country and third best in the SEC.
Florida will play its final game of the 2022 season against Oregon State in the Las Vegas Bowl.
![Florida Gators head coach Billy Napier celebrates with Florida Gators wide receiver Aidan Mizell (11) after a touchdown during the first half at the Orange and Blue spring football game at Steve Spurrier Field at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, April 13, 2024. [Matt Pendleton/Gainesville Sun]](https://on3static.com/cdn-cgi/image/height=215,width=393,quality=90,fit=cover,gravity=0.5x0.5/uploads/dev/assets/cms/2024/04/13155133/Untitled-design-65-2.png)