Jordan Travis' journey from afterthought in the Florida State quarterback room to one of the more beloved players in recent program history has been long and arduous.
Travis announced last December that he is returning for a fifth season at FSU and a sixth in college football, using his extra year of eligibility granted by the coronavirus pandemic season to further increase the impact he'll leave behind in Tallahassee.
With that news, Travis has emerged as one of the odds-on Heisman Trophy favorites this offseason and is set to lead an FSU team that should begin the season in or just outside of the top 10 in the polls.
Travis will begin the 2023 season responsible for 70 touchdowns over his FSU career, 10 shy of tying Chris Weinke's program record.
With all that pressure onto him and the understanding that this will be his final season of eligibility, has his approach this offseason been any different?
"I haven't done much different..." Travis said Wednesday. "It's always the same mindset, focus on my leadership, being myself. I try to be a leader that I'm not. I'm not a guy that speaks a lot in front of the team, but I work my butt off every single day, show up early, do the little things right."
One area where Travis has worked this offseason after making it through an entire season healthy for the first time and starting all 13 of FSU's games last fall is getting back up to his playing weight from the 2022 season.
After floating around 200 pounds in 2021, Travis entered the 2022 season with a listed weight of 212 pounds. He said this week that he's now back to 212 and wants to maintain or even potentially add a bit more weight that he hopes to maintain throughout the course of the season as it could help his durability.
"It's always been my goal to put the weight on and keep it," Travis said. "I've had this weight for probably about a month and a half now, which is good."
Between summer workouts and player-run practices, Travis made time last weekend to attend the Manning Passing Academy in Thibodeaux, La., as one of 45 camp counselors who are currently collegiate quarterbacks.
The trip provided the chance for Travis to talk to and learn from a number of other current quarterbacks at the college level, including likely top 2024 draft pick/North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye and LSU QB Jayden Daniels, who Travis will face off against in just over two months to kick off the 2023 season.
"That was an honor. Just being invited there was a special thing," Travis said. "Being around all those quarterbacks, Drake Maye, (Tennessee's) Joe Milton, (Duke QB) Riley Leonard, talking to those guys and hearing their perspective on certain things was really cool. You're getting around all the top quarterbacks and that's all you can ask for."
The trip to Louisiana and the MPA also provided Travis an even more valuable experience of learning under legendary NFL quarterbacks Peyton and Eli Manning, who are associate directors of the camp which is run by their father, Archie, who also played in the NFL.
"Getting around the Manning family was a blessing, hearing their perspective on everything and how they go up to the line, their pre-snap checks, bringing it back here," Travis said. "We had a meeting on Saturday afternoon that helped me a lot, hearing from both Peyton and Eli and two GMs from the NFL. Hearing the little things, how they pre-snap check, how they lead their teammates and how you earn respect."
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