You guys already know I believe in Jordan Travis.

You already know Kenny Dillingham believes in him as well. The Florida State offensive coordinator has spoken glowingly about him for the better part of two years.

I assume many of you have come around to our side after the way he finished the season, going 5-2 in his last seven games as the starter (with the two losses coming at Clemson and at Florida) and being the best offensive player on the field for the final two months for the Seminoles.

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You watched that game on Saturday. If Jordan Travis hadn't come back from injury -- more on that in a moment -- then Florida might have won 50-0. Who knows how bad it would have gotten with Milton and/or Rodemaker playing the rest of the way?

But Travis came back out and, with a bum shoulder, threw for 200 yards, ran for 100 and accounted for two touchdowns in FSU's 24-21 loss at The Swamp.

It was, in my opinion, one of the most important games of his career. Because of the toughness and competitiveness he showed in trying to will his team back in the game. Teammates notice stuff like that.

Arm hanging down like it's immobile, like it's a shoulder separation, and then coming back into the game two drives later and running for a score. Putting your body on the line for the team, for THEM, means an awful lot when you're trying to be a leader.

And that's exactly what Travis is trying to be now.

Which is good, because he is no doubt the future of this offense for the next couple of years (as long as he can stay healthy).

I didn't necessarily believe that two months ago.

I felt like he was certainly the best option on THIS team, but I wasn't sure he would be the best option next year or the year after.

Now, unless some Heisman candidate wants to transfer to Tallahassee, I'm absolutely convinced this is the quarterback for Florida State for the foreseeable future.

He's not perfect. He's not an All-America caliber player. (At least not yet!) He's got some holes to his game. But he's so much better than he was last year. He's so much better than he was even at the beginning of this year.

It makes you wonder just what his ceiling is going to be. Especially if you go out and give him a line that can stonewall a pass rush and some NFL-caliber receivers.

Either way, he has proven he can play -- and play well in big moments -- at this level.

We watched the game-winning drive against Syracuse, when he used his athleticism to get into field goal range.

We watched the game against North Carolina, where he used his legs and his arm to light up the Tar Heels' defense.

We watched the game against Miami, where he ripped off two of his best throws of the season when it mattered most.

And we watched the game on Saturday, when he went out there and played through an obvious injury, giving his team a chance to win in the fourth quarter. On the road.

One of the best signs, in my mind, was how Travis handled the loss afterward. He was devastated. He was truly upset. He had just had another 200-100 performance, in a hostile environment, while he ran for his life for much of the game, and he wasn't about to take any bows for an individual performance.

"Losing sucks," Travis said.

Over and over and over again.

He's not wrong. And we're all tired of these Florida State football losses.

But you know what doesn't suck?

The Florida State starting quarterback. Not sure we've truthfully been able to say that to ourselves for quite a while. But we can now.

He's actually a pretty darn good player. Heck, at this time next year he might be a great player. He grew so much as a passer -- staying in the pocket, going through progressions, reading coverages -- over this season that we have no idea how much better he can actually get with another year in the system and presumably better players around him.

Just like we had no idea he'd be this guy when the season started.

After the game on Saturday, I asked Travis what he had learned about himself over these last three months.

I know what we learned -- that he wasn't just an athlete playing quarterback, and that he was competitive and could make plays when it mattered -- but I wondered what he learned about himself since that Notre Dame game back in early September.

I thought his answer was great.

"I know I'm a pretty good quarterback," Travis said with a smile. "I can throw the ball pretty good. Yeah, man, I worked really hard. The coaching staff did a great job with me, just instilling confidence in me every single day. I go out there and work really hard.

"And I sort of became a leader today. I got the guys together. It was my first time in a while. And I know I'm just taking that next step of becoming that leader that I need to be, speak a little bit more.

"Yeah, man. I'm growing."

Contact senior writer Corey Clark at corey@warchant.com and follow @Corey_Clark on Twitter.

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