Clark: FSU's Jordan Travis going back to where it all started
I honestly didn't know he had even made the trip to Chestnut Hill.
And if I had known, I wouldn't have cared. Why would I?
In November of 2019, Jordan Travis was an afterthought on the Florida State football team. He had made no impact. Seemingly had no future. Because he was buried on the depth chart behind two below-average quarterbacks.
Then those two plays happened.
And, all of the sudden, we realized maybe this Travis kid had a little something to him.
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Travis' very first play in a Seminole uniform was a 26-yard touchdown run.
Then, later in the game, with FSU nursing a seven-point lead with just over a minute left, he sprinted away from the Boston College secondary for a 66-yard TD that salted away the Seminoles' upset win.
Now, two years later, Jordan Travis is heading back to the scene of his breakout performance. And he's doing it as Florida State's starting quarterback.
"It feels like yesterday," Travis said after practice Tuesday. "That game changed my career in reality. Coach Odell (Haggins) and Coach (Kendal) Briles put me in the game and blessed me, man. I can't wait to get back up there."
Travis had watched all season as James Blackman and Alex Hornibrook played musical chairs at quarterback. Then, the game after Willie Taggart was fired, Travis was utilized for the first time in two separate short-yardage situations.
If Haggins, FSU's interim head coach, hadn't agreed to let him get a couple snaps that afternoon, Travis is not sure where he would be right now.
"That day really changed my life," Travis said. "I got an opportunity. I took advantage of it. I'm just very blessed and very thankful."
Before that trip to Boston College, Jordan Travis was at a crossroads.
He had started his college career off at Louisville. That didn't go well at all. He then transferred to FSU but was a distant third on a depth chart that wasn't exactly overflowing with NFL talent.
The doubts and questions were natural.
Could he play at this level? Would he ever play at this level?
That afternoon in Boston College began his ascent to eventual starting quarterback. But it wasn't exactly a rocket-like rise to the No. 1 spot.
Even though he had proven he could make plays with his legs, even though Briles trusted him enough to take some snaps, it was apparent the then-offensive coordinator didn't trust him to do any actual throwing of the football.
Travis played three snaps against Boston College. All runs.
He was in for six snaps against Florida. Five were runs.
Travis then was in for 15 snaps against Arizona State in the bowl game. Eleven were runs, and another was catching a pass.
Of the 24 snaps he had against FBS competition to close out that season, Travis threw the ball exactly four times.
So, no, he wasn't exactly viewed as the next Chris Weinke.
When Florida State's current offensive coordinator, Kenny Dillingham, arrived after that season, he heard that Travis couldn't throw the ball at all.
Nearly two years later, he brings that notion up constantly when talking about his starting quarterback. Because from Day 1, Dillingham has said Travis is a natural passer.
He admits that Travis had to improve his footwork, and he had to get better at studying the game, figuring out what defenses are trying to do and how to attack them. But Dillingham insists he had all the confidence in the world that the West Palm Beach native could be a starting quarterback at Florida State.
And that was exactly what the young signal-caller needed.
"Having people believe in you is important," Travis said. "And also believing in yourself is very important. I feel like before coming to Florida State, I didn't really believe in myself. I was kind out there playing street ball. But now I have people that believe in me, that push me to come here every single day and get better."
Which is what he's done.
Travis isn't putting up Weinke-like numbers through the air. Not even close. But he's proven he can play the position at a high level. He's proven he's more than just a runner.
Ask Miami about that.
Fourth-and-14 is going to be remembered around these parts forever. So much so that Travis has started his own clothing line, where he's selling 4th-and-14 T-shirts. Get 'em while they're hot! Or before Chris Rix and Dominic Robinson sue him for copyright infringement.
While some still seem fixated on his perceived shortcomings, Travis has proven he can indeed be the guy, as long as he's healthy, to be the starting quarterback at Florida State University.
Over the last two season, FSU is 7-4 when he gets the majority of the snaps at quarterback.
And when he doesn't? The Seminoles are 0-8.
He's not perfect by any means. We all understand that. But when you think about where he must've been two years ago, to not even get on the field with guys like Blackman and Hornibrook getting all the snaps (no offense, fellas!) to where he is now, leading last-minute drives in rivalry games and putting up another 31 points, it gets you pretty excited.
"I'm just growing," Travis said. "I've got to keep growing."
What is his ceiling? How much better can he get?
We've known for two years now he's a dynamic runner. And as Dillingham said on Monday, Travis is now beating teams with his mind and his arm, too.
He's still just a redshirt sophomore, so who knows what this looks like a year or two from now? But there's a chance, a real one, that he becomes a very good college quarterback if he keeps developing at this rate.
There's a chance we look back at that cold November afternoon in Boston two years ago as the start of something special.
Jordan Travis already does.
Contact senior writer Corey Clark at corey@warchant.com and follow @Corey_Clark on Twitter.
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