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The O-Zone Podcast | Travis Etienne Jr. Leveling up Performance in Year 5 · The Jacksonville Jaguars Official Podcast Network

• 0:05
  Speaker 1: Oh soon.
• 0:08
  Speaker 2: Welcome to the Ozone Podcast with Jaguars senior writer John Osher.
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: All Right, welcome into this week's Ozone podcast, and I
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: will get right to it, because if you're watching this,
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: you know exactly who this says. It's one of my
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: favorite guests on this, to be honest with you, I
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: love his perspective on football, uh and life. Jaguars running
• 0:28
  Speaker 1: back Travis atm Junior, I appreciate you doing this, buddy,
• 0:31
  Speaker 1: I just I appreciate you having when I say fifth year,
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: you know, it's really hard for me to believe you're
• 0:38
  Speaker 1: in year five. I guess because you've always sort of
• 0:41
  Speaker 1: acted like a veteran anyway. But is it hard for
• 0:45
  Speaker 1: you to believe it's year five now?
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: Uh?
• 0:47
  Speaker 3: Yeah, most definitely. I feel like, like, like coach I
• 0:50
  Speaker 3: always said, like the days alone, but the years are short,
• 0:52
  Speaker 3: and I feel like just getting here to year five
• 0:54
  Speaker 3: is a It's an unbelievable feature. I feel like I've
• 0:56
  Speaker 3: been through a lot through my career, and I feel
• 0:59
  Speaker 3: like just just having in perspective of just I don't know,
• 1:02
  Speaker 3: just grateful to be here in your fife.
• 1:03
  Speaker 2: Actually, you said something a few weeks ago.
• 1:05
  Speaker 1: It may have been after after the team tted, uh,
• 1:09
  Speaker 1: I traded uh Tank, and a reporter asked you about
• 1:14
  Speaker 1: something and you said, well, I guess I'm not surprised
• 1:16
  Speaker 1: about anything in the NFL anymore.
• 1:20
  Speaker 2: Is that how you like?
• 1:22
  Speaker 1: Is that a reflection I guess of how much you've
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: seen and I guess you know how this league works.
• 1:28
  Speaker 1: Now it's a veteran, you know it's uh, you're a vet.
• 1:32
  Speaker 3: I guess, yeah, No, most definitely, I mean, it's definitely.
• 1:35
  Speaker 3: I mean because like I remember, like my first year plan,
• 1:38
  Speaker 3: I felt like Men James James was a great tandem.
• 1:40
  Speaker 3: I thought we really complimented each other. Well, he was
• 1:42
  Speaker 3: doing really good and he got traded, and I feel
• 1:45
  Speaker 3: like that that that was kind of like the that's
• 1:47
  Speaker 3: kind of when I learned.
• 1:48
  Speaker 2: I learned are Yeah, I learned real early.
• 1:52
  Speaker 3: So for when it happened with Tank, it wasn't it
• 1:55
  Speaker 3: wasn't a shocker because I understand the business side of
• 1:57
  Speaker 3: the NFL, and I understand it there's a business. I
• 1:59
  Speaker 3: felt like last year really taught me the business side
• 2:01
  Speaker 3: of it too, So just understanding that it's never personal,
• 2:04
  Speaker 3: it's all business and at the end of the day,
• 2:06
  Speaker 3: it's a production league. So the best thing that I
• 2:08
  Speaker 3: do for myself and my family to go out there
• 2:10
  Speaker 3: and be the best version of myself.
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: You mentioned last year, and I think you mentioned a
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: couple of times talking to the media that sort of
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: taught you that big years aren't guaranteed, opportunities aren't guaranteed.
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: What did last year teach you that is helping you
• 2:28
  Speaker 1: this year on that front?
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: Just take it one week at a time, Just be
• 2:31
  Speaker 3: great for your opportunity. Don't ever nothing, don't ever. Everything
• 2:36
  Speaker 3: is earned. I have to earn it every week. It's
• 2:39
  Speaker 3: not guaranteed. It's not giving to me. Coming off a
• 2:41
  Speaker 3: back to back one thousand yard seasons going into that
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: third year, I just kind of took it for granted
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: that it was just going to be successful year for me,
• 2:49
  Speaker 3: and it didn't happen. And I feel like that was
• 2:52
  Speaker 3: just God wall of humbling me and just let me
• 2:54
  Speaker 3: understand that if I want someone, I got to go
• 2:56
  Speaker 3: out there and earn it each and every day, and
• 2:59
  Speaker 3: I can't take anything from granted.
• 3:00
  Speaker 2: Tell me about your approach this year.
• 3:02
  Speaker 1: It was all the talk all of I'm sure you
• 3:04
  Speaker 1: heard it, or they might trade et n this is
• 3:07
  Speaker 1: going to be this new regime. But my understanding is
• 3:10
  Speaker 1: when these guys got here, you just heard what they
• 3:13
  Speaker 1: had to say about your role, about what you needed
• 3:15
  Speaker 1: to do to thrive, and just went about your business professionally.
• 3:21
  Speaker 1: Is that something you could have done younger or was
• 3:23
  Speaker 1: the timing right for you to sort of take advantage
• 3:26
  Speaker 1: of that opportunity?
• 3:27
  Speaker 2: I guess.
• 3:28
  Speaker 3: I mean, I mean, I feel like something I could
• 3:29
  Speaker 3: have done when I was younger too. It's how I
• 3:32
  Speaker 3: always approached a game, and I feel like it's the
• 3:34
  Speaker 3: testaments of my work. I mean I really realized, like
• 3:38
  Speaker 3: I can't worry about all the outside noise, the business aspect.
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: I mean, I could be having a great year still
• 3:42
  Speaker 3: get traded. Sure, Like I mean, see and Luca Doncons
• 3:45
  Speaker 3: get traded. I mean it's basketball, but you got star
• 3:47
  Speaker 3: players getting traded. So who am I to think that
• 3:50
  Speaker 3: I'm above all that?
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: Sure?
• 3:52
  Speaker 3: So I feel like for me, this year was just
• 3:54
  Speaker 3: really just locking on myself, holding on myself, my skills,
• 3:58
  Speaker 3: and just be the best version of myself because I
• 3:59
  Speaker 3: owe it to myself, especially after having that down year
• 4:03
  Speaker 3: and not really just looking back on it and looking
• 4:06
  Speaker 3: in the off season and you start thinking like, what
• 4:08
  Speaker 3: could I have done better to prepare myself, and I
• 4:10
  Speaker 3: feel like I didn't want to take that same route,
• 4:13
  Speaker 3: and so I just made sure I maximize all my
• 4:14
  Speaker 3: opportunities on the front end, so I co with the
• 4:17
  Speaker 3: benefits on the back end.
• 4:18
  Speaker 2: And the team. You've seen a rookie year, three years
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: with Doug. Now this new regime.
• 4:29
  Speaker 1: Tell me about what you like about what's going on
• 4:32
  Speaker 1: right now. For the perspective of somebody who's seen a
• 4:35
  Speaker 1: lot arout here.
• 4:36
  Speaker 3: I feel like I love this new regime because it's
• 4:38
  Speaker 3: all about the growth process. Although we won the game,
• 4:41
  Speaker 3: we still have a lot of room for approval. We
• 4:43
  Speaker 3: still have a lot to work on, and that approach
• 4:46
  Speaker 3: it that way. We won the game, but at the
• 4:48
  Speaker 3: end of day, when we go turning that film, it's
• 4:50
  Speaker 3: a lot of things that can get better at. And
• 4:53
  Speaker 3: they never started preaching getting better. So I love the
• 4:56
  Speaker 3: growth mindset. Just coming here each and every day and
• 4:58
  Speaker 3: then on everyone there on a little d he tells
• 5:00
  Speaker 3: the minute details to get better, and that keep us
• 5:02
  Speaker 3: focused and keep us locked in and getting better. And
• 5:05
  Speaker 3: we always just preaching just go out there and like
• 5:07
  Speaker 3: be your best self, and like just keep working to
• 5:10
  Speaker 3: be your best self. So I love the growth mindset
• 5:12
  Speaker 3: the day preacher.
• 5:13
  Speaker 1: Like coaches say that, but actually living that and doing
• 5:16
  Speaker 1: it's a different thing.
• 5:17
  Speaker 3: Right, most definitely, I actually like I love my I
• 5:20
  Speaker 3: love coach Chad just the way that he just he
• 5:23
  Speaker 3: holds us accountable. You know, we created a standard around
• 5:26
  Speaker 3: here in the standards, a standard. No matter how I feeling,
• 5:29
  Speaker 3: I have to have to perform at death standard. So
• 5:33
  Speaker 3: I love I love that we have those those set foundation.
• 5:36
  Speaker 2: Now where are you?
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: And I guess I'm sort of thinking on the field
• 5:40
  Speaker 1: about the run the other day, right, I remember, earlier
• 5:43
  Speaker 1: in your career.
• 5:44
  Speaker 2: You told me once about.
• 5:47
  Speaker 1: When you got run down from behind and you wanted
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: to learn from that experience. I guess I'm asking, could
• 5:54
  Speaker 1: you have made the run you made the other day
• 5:56
  Speaker 1: when you were younger or you a smarter runner finished
• 6:00
  Speaker 1: in a play? Was that a veteran traves etn run?
• 6:04
  Speaker 3: I mean yeah, I feel like, just yeah, that was
• 6:06
  Speaker 3: just me. Yeah I understand, yeah, that was a veteran run.
• 6:09
  Speaker 2: I feel like just, uh, just a.
• 6:11
  Speaker 3: Game is much slower in my mind than it was
• 6:13
  Speaker 3: whenever I was a rookie and just coming like when
• 6:16
  Speaker 3: because I didn't play the rookie. But that first season
• 6:18
  Speaker 3: having that long run. Uh, I mean at that time,
• 6:23
  Speaker 3: I really didn't understand everyone was professionals, you know, just
• 6:26
  Speaker 3: coming from Clemson just being able to rip off eighty
• 6:28
  Speaker 3: yard runs whenever I wanted. You don't really kind of
• 6:31
  Speaker 3: grasp that, Oh there's guys on defensive side running twenty
• 6:34
  Speaker 3: two myspiral too. So now just me understanding that those guys,
• 6:39
  Speaker 3: those guys pay a lot of money to play this
• 6:41
  Speaker 3: game as well. Sure, just understanding to use my leverage
• 6:44
  Speaker 3: and start attacking angles and uh, just kind of slowing
• 6:47
  Speaker 3: guys down to to get that extra extra.
• 6:50
  Speaker 2: Cup of yards. What what is it about this scheme?
• 6:56
  Speaker 2: As a runner? Do you like as it? Or even
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: as a back? How does it fit your skill?
• 7:03
  Speaker 3: It just gives me the ability to just manipulate the
• 7:06
  Speaker 3: defense and be able to go take the ball where
• 7:08
  Speaker 3: I wanted to go. And just uh, I feel like
• 7:10
  Speaker 3: the great thing about this scheme is just that, uh,
• 7:14
  Speaker 3: we're all locked in. I feel like the Office of
• 7:15
  Speaker 3: Line is working as one. I feel like they definitely
• 7:18
  Speaker 3: make the scheme go. They definitely make it easier for
• 7:20
  Speaker 3: me and just me just kind of just helping set
• 7:22
  Speaker 3: those guys blocks up, and I feel like I do
• 7:25
  Speaker 3: a great job of helping the office of line and
• 7:27
  Speaker 3: I feel like I'm able to just kind of rats
• 7:29
  Speaker 3: any kind of situation to get up out of that.
• 7:31
  Speaker 3: And uh, it's just I feel like with make this
• 7:34
  Speaker 3: scheme goes, it's just everyone is brought in, everyone is
• 7:36
  Speaker 3: dialed in, Everyone knows where they're going, and we know
• 7:38
  Speaker 3: what we want to do.
• 7:39
  Speaker 1: Is there a Is there a chemistry that a back
• 7:43
  Speaker 1: develops with a line. I guess the chemistry is that
• 7:46
  Speaker 1: good already between you guys, because it seems like you
• 7:48
  Speaker 1: know what they're doing and they know what you're doing.
• 7:50
  Speaker 3: I mean nah, I mean we practice every day. I
• 7:52
  Speaker 3: mean that's why we go through training camp to build
• 7:54
  Speaker 3: that chemistry. And I feel like the chemistry only gets
• 7:56
  Speaker 3: better throughout the year. But just we we definitely build
• 7:59
  Speaker 3: that foundation, uh throughout throughout training camp. And uh, I mean,
• 8:04
  Speaker 3: I'm just just I'm just grateful to have the office line.
• 8:06
  Speaker 3: I feel like this is the best office line I've
• 8:09
  Speaker 3: I've been here in Jacksonville and just grateful for them.
• 8:12
  Speaker 3: And I feel like just having a great online really
• 8:14
  Speaker 3: just helps the back uh be able to for me
• 8:17
  Speaker 3: to go out there and baby show my skills, said too,
• 8:19
  Speaker 3: And Glad there so has cases kids that la Quinn
• 8:22
  Speaker 3: going there and have great runs. And I feel like
• 8:24
  Speaker 3: a running back is truly reflectioning the office of line
• 8:27
  Speaker 3: and we go as they go.
• 8:28
  Speaker 2: Got you well? Uh? You mentioned Chad. Uh.
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: I wasnasy about Liam's approach because I've talked for so
• 8:34
  Speaker 1: many players talk about his ability to connect with him
• 8:38
  Speaker 1: and his ability to sort of stay engaged.
• 8:40
  Speaker 2: With the team.
• 8:40
  Speaker 1: And you guys clearly like playing for Liam Cohen. What
• 8:44
  Speaker 1: is it about him that has enabled him to connect
• 8:48
  Speaker 1: with you guys so fast?
• 8:49
  Speaker 2: Uh?
• 8:50
  Speaker 3: He's just very personable, right. I feel like he don't
• 8:53
  Speaker 3: think he's above anyone. He also he knows we all
• 8:56
  Speaker 3: in this together, right. And whenever you have a coach
• 8:58
  Speaker 3: who who's able to take accountability for things and be
• 9:03
  Speaker 3: able to be right in there with you on the forefront, Uh,
• 9:05
  Speaker 3: you can't do nothing but respect him and go to
• 9:07
  Speaker 3: war for him.
• 9:08
  Speaker 2: Is it as fun?
• 9:09
  Speaker 1: And you can't watch this team right now on the
• 9:13
  Speaker 1: sidelines when you interact without a feeling that you guys
• 9:17
  Speaker 1: like playing with each other? How real is that and
• 9:20
  Speaker 1: how important is that to what's going on? Just the
• 9:23
  Speaker 1: team first, I guess, for lack of a better way
• 9:25
  Speaker 1: to say.
• 9:25
  Speaker 3: It, I mean I was very rude. And I feel
• 9:27
  Speaker 3: like it's very important to be a success football team.
• 9:31
  Speaker 3: If you just go look at any any team in life,
• 9:35
  Speaker 3: what is middle school, high school, college? All the great
• 9:40
  Speaker 3: teams had that continuity. All the great teams are playing
• 9:42
  Speaker 3: for something bigger than themselves. And that's the only way
• 9:44
  Speaker 3: we're going to be able to just go far and
• 9:47
  Speaker 3: have a deep player run and we continue to believe,
• 9:49
  Speaker 3: continue to love each other and play for the next man,
• 9:51
  Speaker 3: play for the man next to you.
• 9:53
  Speaker 1: After what you've sort of been through and seen, Gus,
• 9:57
  Speaker 1: how cool is it to be a part of It
• 10:00
  Speaker 1: feels like an ascending energy right now, is it?
• 10:03
  Speaker 2: I would think very I.
• 10:04
  Speaker 3: Mean, yeah, it's very cool. But I also know you
• 10:07
  Speaker 3: can't get too high. Right We only three and one. Uh,
• 10:10
  Speaker 3: we have a lot of season left left ahead of us.
• 10:13
  Speaker 3: We can't get them this high horse. We still have
• 10:15
  Speaker 3: a lot of things we've got to work on as
• 10:16
  Speaker 3: a football team in order to continue to win games.
• 10:19
  Speaker 3: And we want to be playing our best ball at
• 10:21
  Speaker 3: the end of the season. And we understand, we know
• 10:23
  Speaker 3: we want to be. Yet so uh, we got to
• 10:25
  Speaker 3: keep taking in one week at a time, keep going,
• 10:27
  Speaker 3: want to know, and we can't really just worry about
• 10:29
  Speaker 3: all the outside noise because at the end of the day, uh,
• 10:32
  Speaker 3: we all, we all, We've got.
• 10:33
  Speaker 1: You say to me once a few years ago, we
• 10:35
  Speaker 1: were talking about I think Saquon's contract or something with
• 10:39
  Speaker 1: running back contracts, and you said, you know what, I
• 10:40
  Speaker 1: can't worry about that sort of thing. All I can
• 10:44
  Speaker 1: do is play. You don't worry about the off the
• 10:45
  Speaker 1: field until it comes around. I assume sort of taking
• 10:48
  Speaker 1: that same approach. You're in the final year year contract.
• 10:51
  Speaker 1: That's just how you approach it, isn't it that you
• 10:53
  Speaker 1: can't worry about off field until until you take care
• 10:56
  Speaker 1: of on the field.
• 10:57
  Speaker 3: Oh yeah, most definitely, because if you just look at
• 10:59
  Speaker 3: the you just look at I mean my on field
• 11:02
  Speaker 3: is want to take care of my off the field.
• 11:04
  Speaker 3: If I'm not doing well on the field, then I'm
• 11:07
  Speaker 3: not gonna be doing well off the field. So it
• 11:09
  Speaker 3: kind of takes care of itself. And that's just how
• 11:11
  Speaker 3: we've been throughout the league. And you have guys in
• 11:13
  Speaker 3: front of you who do well and you see them
• 11:16
  Speaker 3: the benefits, So all you can do is just uh,
• 11:19
  Speaker 3: just believe me what you've seen and idem to be
• 11:21
  Speaker 3: my best self.
• 11:23
  Speaker 1: I find a question on these lines, is this the
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: best place you've been in mentally in terms of being
• 11:29
  Speaker 1: in the NFL? I mean, are the most fun you're having?
• 11:32
  Speaker 1: You're a veteran, you know how to play this game now.
• 11:34
  Speaker 1: I mean to I guess to use a phrase I hate,
• 11:38
  Speaker 1: is this peak etn I mean, is this the best
• 11:41
  Speaker 1: time so far to be Travis in the NFL?
• 11:44
  Speaker 3: I mean yeah, I mean yeah. I feel like as
• 11:46
  Speaker 3: a player, you want to always evolve, right. I feel
• 11:48
  Speaker 3: like there's no peak for me. I feel like I
• 11:50
  Speaker 3: continue to get better each and every year, just offering
• 11:52
  Speaker 3: experiences and just learning new things. So I mean it
• 11:56
  Speaker 3: is a great time to be me. I feel like
• 11:57
  Speaker 3: I feel like that last year too. I'm sure like
• 11:59
  Speaker 3: I always feel like that, but I mean it's a
• 12:01
  Speaker 3: great year because I feel like it's a great system
• 12:03
  Speaker 3: around me, and I feel like we're all doing well.
• 12:06
  Speaker 3: And that's why I'm doing so well because at the
• 12:08
  Speaker 3: end of the day, like I always say, a running
• 12:10
  Speaker 3: back to the reflection of Bops, the line, if my old
• 12:12
  Speaker 3: line isn't doing well, then who cares? What I'm doing.
• 12:15
  Speaker 3: I mean, I had one year here, well I led
• 12:17
  Speaker 3: the league in broken toples, but who cares about that?
• 12:20
  Speaker 3: We wasn't getting any wins.
• 12:21
  Speaker 2: So the fun is in the winning.
• 12:22
  Speaker 3: As long as we keep winning, I feel like things
• 12:24
  Speaker 3: going to be great and it's a great time to
• 12:25
  Speaker 3: be a Jaguar.
• 12:26
  Speaker 1: We'll do a real fast ozone five and get you
• 12:29
  Speaker 1: out of here. Your last binge watch.
• 12:36
  Speaker 3: Oh my last binge watch. It's been a h dang.
• 12:40
  Speaker 3: I want to say love Island that guy?
• 12:43
  Speaker 1: All right, your your go to pregame song?
• 12:49
  Speaker 3: Go to a pregame song. I feel like it's been
• 12:53
  Speaker 3: changing week to week. It's been changing week to week.
• 12:55
  Speaker 3: I would say the last one. Uh, I don't know,
• 12:58
  Speaker 3: because I mean because we've been playing music in the
• 13:00
  Speaker 3: locker room with them. I'll change the question.
• 13:04
  Speaker 1: I'll change the question moving forward. Sport other than football
• 13:08
  Speaker 1: that you would have liked to have played at a
• 13:10
  Speaker 1: high level basketball, I could have been a real great show. Okay, okay,
• 13:15
  Speaker 1: you and everybody else in the locker room. So, uh,
• 13:18
  Speaker 1: your go to show growing up?
• 13:21
  Speaker 3: Go to show growing up? I would say family feud
• 13:25
  Speaker 3: my grandma when when I walk home from school, should
• 13:27
  Speaker 3: always have family these it was Doctor Phield the Family
• 13:31
  Speaker 3: Field came, but I really I only watched Doctor Field
• 13:34
  Speaker 3: because I had to watch it before we got The Family.
• 13:36
  Speaker 2: The family feud you like you must see athlete Lebron James.
• 13:42
  Speaker 1: Okay for Lebron guy. Fair enough, Travis, I know you
• 13:45
  Speaker 1: got other plans. I appreciate you joining the ozone podcast. Thank
• 13:47
  Speaker 1: you very much. I always enjoy it.
• 13:49
  Speaker 3: I just say thank you