Travis Etienne was “secretly rooting” for Jaguars to take him

[Jaxson De Ville]

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Running back Travis Etienne and everyone else watching the first round of the draft on Thursday night knew the Jaguars were going to take his college teammate Trevor Lawrence with the first overall pick.

Unlike most of the other people watching the draft, Etienne had a chance to be Jacksonville’s second first-round pick of the night. He had to wait until the 25th pick to find out that he would be joining Lawrence in the Jaguars backfield.

It was exactly what Etienne hoped would happen.

“I was secretly rooting for Jacksonville. . . . I did have it in the back of my mind that I might have a chance to reunite with Trev,” Etienne said, via the team’s website. “For it to come full circle, I’m just happy, excited and blessed. Being his teammate for three years, we’ve really built that camaraderie. I don’t have to work on getting to know somebody else. I know Trev inside and out. It will be a great feeling. We’re going out there with the same common goal, so there will be great things to happen on that field.”

Jaguars head coach Urban Meyer called Etienne a “matchup issue” who can help the team as a runner and a receiver. His relationship with Lawrence may help him get a few more looks in the latter role once the team hits the field later this year.