CHARLOTTE — The kickoff to the Panthers season is less than 100 days away now, but only by a bit. Yet even with 97 days to go, Trevor Etienne's mom, Donnetta, is prepared. Because Week 1 will be very special for Donnetta Etienne; both of her sons will be on the field.

"As soon as we found out the big news, we already were excited about playing each other this year," Etienne shared. "And then come to find out that it will be Week 1. It's even more exciting, and we all can't wait."

The Etienne brothers won't be the first set of brothers to face off in a game; the Kelce brothers famously faced off in an Eagles-Chiefs Super Bowl. The Watt brothers once had all three siblings in a Texans-Steelers game. The McCourty brothers played on the same team with the Patriots, and the list goes on and on: the Long brothers, the Bosas, the Diggses, the Sharpes, and who can forget "The Manning Bowl?"

In preparation for her two sons facing off in the NFL for the first time—Trevor as a rookie running back with the Panthers and Travis Etienne, a former first-rounder, as running back with the Jaguars, Mama Etienne has one goal—a split jersey. So, she reached out to the parent of another set of siblings in the league: John Brown, the father of Amon-Ra and Equanimeous St. Brown.

"That's definitely all she's been talking about so far after finding out like she's adamant about getting this split jersey done for the game," Etienne laughed. "I think she got in touch with Amon-Ra St. Brown's father and see how he did it. We were at the NFLPA, and I think she was able to get in touch with him at the premiere, and I think she was able to figure out how he did it and get some pointers and tips on how to handle that, on how to get this split jersey."

That is still over three months away, though, and in the meantime, Etienne knows he has a lot of work to do in preparation for the league. He comes to Charlotte as the Georgia Bulldogs leader in rushing touchdowns last season with nine, but also as a returner, or at least someone with return experience. He returned two punts and 26 kickoffs during two years at Florida (2022-2023), and that was part of what drew their attention to him during the pre-draft process.

"That's kind of a raise your hand scenario if you have returned a ball before, let's go see it. So that's a kind of a volunteer squad," special teams coordinator Tracy Smith.explained last week of the large squad of returners working each day, including Etienne.

"It's just whatever the guy has in his history. Let's start from that. Start with what he's most comfortable doing, and this particular year, it's several guys who have caught and returned balls in games in college."

Added Etienne, "I definitely just been able to learn from the older guys and seeing how they handle things and how they do it."

As a rookie, special teams are often the best and quickest way to get on the field. And with the new kickoff rules in effect, it's offered a clean slate for anyone to grab the job. Etienne knows and respects that, especially being in a running back room with not one but two rushers who topped 1,000 yards last season.

"I just be a sponge, you know, ask as many questions as I can," Etienne said of working behind Chuba Hubbard and Rico Dowdle. "You have two examples that's with you every day of what to do and how to do it in this league.

"So I come in, I'll be a sponge and learn what I can from them. Watch them and watch how they go about their day-to-day process and how they handle their business and try to take it and incorporate it into my game.

"Just helping me out like how to process learning the playbook, like showing me how to handle it like when I'm outside the facility and like showing me how to prepare for the next day and like show me how to take care of your body how to watch film you know, just the little things that they do. And you know, add it to what I do and what works for me, and it's just helping me tremendously."

Etienne will spend the next three months being that sponge, taking any morsel Hubbard, Dowdle, and the coaches have for him. Because Week 1 is already circled on the Etienne family calendar, and it's a day the brothers have looked forward to all their lives.

Said Etienne, "We're just excited for each other."