BYU’s offensive line got a boost earlier this week when the program added Oklahoma State transfer Caleb Etienne.
The 6-foot-8, 325-pound Etienne, who started all 13 games at left tackle for the Cowboys last season, quickly chose the Cougars after announcing last weekend he was entering the NCAA transfer portal.
Kalani Sitake’s program has added several offensive linemen through the transfer portal this offseason, including Utah’s Paul Maile, Utah State’s Weylin Lapuaho and Missouri State’s Ian Fitzgerald.
According to a pair of recruiting experts, Etienne is one of the best available transfers early in the spring transfer window, which opened April 15 and closes again on April 30.
ESPN’s Tom VanHaaren rated Etienne, who played over 1,000 snaps on offense last season, the No. 8 best available player from the first week of the transfer portal opening.
In analyzing how Etienne will fit into BYU’s plans this season, VanHaaren wrote, “The Cougars already have a starting left tackle in Kingsley Suamataia, so Etienne could move over to the right tackle spot and compete for that job.”
Etienne, who started his college career at a pair of community colleges (he was a junior college All-American in 2019) before spending the past two seasons at Oklahoma State, will have two years of eligibility remaining.
247 Sports’ Clint Brewster also has Etienne among the top 10 best available players from the spring transfer portal so far, at No. 9.
“Etienne is a massive 6-foot-7, 325-pound bookend that moves around as good as anybody at that size. He only let up one sack all season and really excelled in pass protection,” Brewster wrote.
“Etienne still needs to get better in the run game but has the size and strength to do so. He recorded his best games against good competition in TCU, Oklahoma and Wisconsin. Etienne has all the tools to continue to grow his game and be a dominant force for BYU in the future.”
Players can still enter the transfer portal through the end of April.
With BYU joining the Big 12 Conference this summer, Etienne will have his chance to face his former school when the Cougars plays at Oklahoma State in the season finale on Nov. 25.