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Travis Etienne reveals proper pronunciation of last name, blames Clemson coaches for change

Danby: Daniel Hager03/13/26DanielHagerOn3

Former Jacksonville Jaguars running back Travis Etienne signed a four-year, $52 million contract with the New Orleans Saints on Wednesday, returning home. Although Etienne attended college at Clemson, he was born in Jennings, LA, just three hours east of New Orleans.

During his introductory press conference on Friday, Etienne revealed the proper pronunciation of his last name. He hilariously blamed his Clemson coaches for not being able to pronounce his last name, leading to the mispronounication for the entirety of his career.

“Growing up, it was Travis Ay-Chan,” Etienne said. “It would be like A-C-H-A-N-E. That’s how you’d always said Travis Ay-Chan. But when I went to college, I kept telling them my name everyday, everyday, everyday. After like four weeks, they just couldn’t get it. So then, I was just like ‘it’s Etienne’. How you see it is how you say it. That’s how that became.

“It kind of just took off because it was easier for the announcers to say it. I didn’t have to correct them everyday on how to say my name. When I started learning more about my name and how it came about, it just kind of stuck and made sense. I’m very much open to being Travis Ay-Chan again. Being myself. I don’t have to correct people here on how to say my name everyday. I kind of love that, and I’ll get back to me.”

Travis Etienne adds to bright future of New Orleans Saints organization

The signing of Etienne is a massive one for a New Orleans organization, coming off an extremely promising end to the 2025 season. The Saints opened 2025 with a disappointing 2-10 record, but won four of their last five games to end the campaign. Led by second-year quarterback Tyler Shough, who was one of the best rookie arms in the league last season, the Saints are primed for a bright future.

Across four full seasons with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Etienne compiled 3,798 rushing yards and 25 touchdowns. He became a receiving threat out of the backfield as well, hauling in 168 receptions for 1,338 yards and seven touchdowns. The 2026 NFL season will mark his first since his freshman season at Clemson (Kelly Bryant in 2017) where his quarterback will not be Trevor Lawrence.

“I feel like it’s going to be very different,” Etienne said about not playing with Lawrence. “I feel like it hasn’t really hit me yet. It will hit me when I’m in training camp and I look over and will be like ‘oh, this ain’t Trevor’. Just being with him for eight years, you kind of just grow to understand ‘this is my QB.’ But I’m excited for both of our journeys. I feel like we did a lot of great things together, but for both of us, our best football is ahead of us.”

Etienne is currently one of two star running backs in New Orleans’ backfield, along with former All-Pro Alvin Kamara. It is currently up in the air, however, whether or not Kamara will be returning for his 10th season with the organization.