Etienne feels adjusted to Division 1 game

Caleb Etienne doesn’t like to trash talk his opposition while engaging in physical combat with edge rushers on every down.

He lets his hands do the talking. Etienne, a gargantuan 6-foot-7 left tackle, is part of an almost entirelynew OSU offensive line which has protected Spencer Sanders better than other years. Through the first four of Sanders’ starts in 2021, he was sacked eight times. Through the same number of starts this season, he’s only hit the ground twice.

On Saturday, during OSU’s game vs Texas Tech, Etienne, Sanders’ blindside protector, will have a tough task dealing with Red Raider edge rusher Tyree Wilson’s powerful, yet quick, 6-foot-6, 275-pound frame.

“He’s similar to Colin Oliver,” Etienne said. “I just have to keep my feet moving.”

Facing Oliver and Trace Ford in practice every day, then the best the Big 12 has to offer on Saturdays is far different from the beginnings of his collegiate career.

Etienne spent two seasons in JUCO, with Fort Scott C.C. and Butler C.C. in Kansas, but after the cancellation of the entire 2020 junior college season, Etienne transferred to OSU, where he found himself overweight and unprepared for the Division 1 game after a year off from football.

“In JUCO we worked out, but it wasn’t as intense as Division 1,” Etienne said. “I was heavy, I had a lot of weight on me. So I had to stay humble and trust the process. I feel better, and faster on my feet.”

Throughout his first year at OSU in 2021, Etienne saw some action on the field, but was focused on losing weight and learning the playbook. Etienne took advantage of a large Power Five program’s nutrition and health services available to student-athletes, and the notorious workouts from Rob Glass, OSU’s strength and conditioning coach. The result for the 21-year-old’s body was a deduction from 380, to 330 pounds in one year.

“Once I hopped on the scale for the first time, I lost 30 pounds,” Etienne said. “Then I kept losing, and it became 50. I was so happy. I didn’t realize how fat I was until I looked at old pictures. I was like, ‘I really did that.’ It was uncomfortable in my stance with my weight.”

Now, as a starter in 2022, Etienne can focus on protecting his quarterback and creating holes for runners to get through. To improve his own technique, Etienne watches film on NFL offensive linemen, such as rent Williams and Jedrick Wills, with OSU offensive line grad assistant Brayden Kearsley. While preparing to face other teams’ edge rusher, he watches their tape to find tendencies and ways to use his strengths in battle.

“I get ahead on them early,” Etienne said. “I watch to see what they like doing, what moves they use the most and stunts. I have to think about what I’m going to do when I face them. I have length, so I try to put my arms on them first. A lot of rushers try to use a longarm, but I’m long too.”

Through a month of the 2022 season, Etienne said he is far better than he was when he first step foot on campus last year. By going against the offensive line in practice, OSU defensive lineman Brendon Evers can see the change Etienne, and the line as a whole, has made with each turn of the calendar.

“The offensive line took a lot of criticism last year,” Evers said. “But pressure makes diamonds.”