Caleb Etienne's move to guard has helped spark BYU run game before return to Stillwater

PROVO — Caleb Etienne probably won't be on Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy's Thanksgiving text chain two days before the 6-foot-8, 330-pound offensive lineman returns to his former school to face the 21st-ranked Cowboys with BYU.

But the former starter of 13 games in 2022 knows exactly what the Cougars will face Saturday afternoon at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma, (1:30 p.m. MST, ABC) — right down to the horse named "Bullet" that OSU trots out after every touchdown.

"From my experience, it's a great crowd, great environment and great people," Etienne said. "They're going to talk their trash and try to get you out of your zone. It's a hostile environment … but it's a good environment."

Shortly after Etienne, a redshirt junior who still has a year of eligibility remaining due to the COVID-19 pandemic, transferred to BYU, Gundy issued some words that many interpreted as a shot against the mammoth left tackle starter who moved to right tackle with the Cougars before a midseason switch to guard.

"Caleb just felt like he got beat out, so he left. But that's his choice," Gundy said. "You're going to have different things. … Everybody's coming around to the portal and realizing the portal is there for a variety of reasons.

"Players can get more money through NIL, they can be players who are late in their career and just want something new, or they can be a guy who says I'm not gonna be a starter and I want to go be a starter. As for now, we have one guy in Caleb who didn't feel like he was going to start here, and so he wanted to go somewhere else."

Etienne, who met with the media Tuesday but didn't comment much on his former coach, doesn't seem to anticipate a jovial pregame reunion at midfield with Gundy when the Cougars get to Stillwater. But he is excited to see several former teammates, as well as fans and staff members at his old stomping grounds.

"For me, it's going to be a surreal moment going out there where I used to play with those teammates," he said. "Now I'm going to compete against them Saturday. I think it will be a good game for me and the whole team, to see if want to go to a bowl game. I'm excited."

Etienne's move to Provo was initially met with a spot in the starting lineup, albeit a move to right tackle with former Orem High five-star recruit Kingsley Suamataia entrenched on the left. But when BYU's run game began to breakdown, the redshirt junior was replaced at right tackle with Brayden Keim and Etienne moved to right guard, where he's rotated with Utah State transfer Weyllin Lapuaho despite never playing the position in college, he said.

That move, coincidentally or not, coincided with an uptick in the Cougars' run game — though one perhaps barely noticed in the midst of a four-game losing skid.

But it also has the potential to jumpstart more of the Cougars' offense, especially with Etienne publicly declaring this week that he wants to return to BYU next season for his final year of eligibility.

He could even be in the mix at left tackle, assuming Suamataia declares for the NFL draft, as many expect. Like Etienne, the 6-foot-6, 325-pound redshirt sophomore went through senior day activities last week at LaVell Edwards Stadium.

"It's been good. I think I did OK," Etienne said. "But it's just something I had to do — go out and do whatever they want me to be, be whatever they want me to be."

There are plenty of reasons that BYU's once languishing rushing offense has seen a jolt in recent weeks, including changes on the offensive line that include Etienne's switch and a rotation of Connor Pay at center and Paul Maile at left guard, per offensive coordinator Aaron Roderick.

There's also the increased mobility of backup quarterback Jake Retzlaff, the dual-threat former junior college star who started his first game in 37-7 loss at West Virginia.

Retzlaff continued to make plays with his arm and legs in subsequent losses to Iowa State (45-13) and No. 14 Oklahoma (31-24), where he was joined by a season-high 182 yards and Retzlaff added a 10-yard rushing score.

Even former breakout freshman LJ Martin, who like Robbins was slowed by an injury midway through the season, noted the former 1,000-yard rusher at UNLV's moment in BYU's home finale.

"Aidan was just rolling Saturday; we kept giving him the ball," Roderick said. "Even LJ one time, it was his turn and go in and he said, Aidan's hot; give him the ball. That was pretty cool."

For his part, the youngster has taken his role in stride — and dramatically improved in other areas of his first season of college football.

During one red-zone play against Oklahoma, Martin sealed the edge and held up a Sooner defensive end from sacking Retzlaff — a play that allowed the quarterback to finish the RPO with a 1-yard touchdown to Isaac Rex that tied the game at 14-14 in the second quarter.

"He was a good runner the day he got here. He could run the ball and break tackles," Roderick said of Martin. "Where he's improving is learning to play without the ball: pass protection, blocking in the run game or screens or QB runs, and as a receiver too. He's more dynamic with how we can use him in the passing game."

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