Jordan Travis: A weapon so secret it surprised even some Seminoles

CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. -- Talk about your elements of surprise.

Florida State's defensive players, who spar with him every day in practice, knew backup quarterback Jordan Travis was a threat with the ball in his hands. The Seminoles' offensive players knew it, too.

Even interim head coach Odell Haggins, who gave offensive coordinator Kendal Briles the green light this week to use Travis in a limited role, believed the redshirt freshman had talents that could spark the Seminoles' offense.

No one, however, could have predicted what Travis, who transferred in from Louisville this past January, would end up doing on Saturday at Boston College.

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With Florida State trailing 14-10 early in the third quarter and the Seminoles facing a third-and-3 from the BC 26-yard line, starting quarterback James Blackman sprinted toward the sideline and Travis came running onto the field.

Lined up in the shotgun, Travis took his first snap as a Seminole, faked an inside handoff to Cam Akers and rolled out to his right, where he had to elude a charging defender near the line of scrimmage. After sending that would-be tackler sprawling, Travis then followed a downfield block from receiver Tamorrion Terry and raced down the sideline for a 26-yard touchdown and a 17-14 Seminoles lead.

It was the first of two rushing touchdowns on the day for Travis, who despite not playing in any of FSU's first nine games, provided an essential spark in Saturday's 38-31 victory. His second touchdown -- a 66-yarder in the game's final minutes -- was the longest by a Florida State quarterback in school history.

"Once he gets going, it's hard to stop him," Blackman said. "Once he gets going, it's hard to stop him. I promise you. And he put that on display today. He's been through a lot. I'm just so happy that he was able to go display his talent today and help this team win."