9/28/2022 football Edit

FSU QB Jordan Travis worked hard to not miss a start, return vs. BC

Jordan Travis threw for a career-best 321 yards in FSU's win over BC. (Melina Myers / USA Today Sports)

Curt Weiler • TheOsceola

Senior Writer

Jordan Travis admits it now: When it first happened, he thought it was a serious injury.

On a sack the Florida State quarterback took during the second quarter of the Seminoles’ game at Louisville on Sept. 16, he suffered a leg injury.

He immediately seemed to understand the situation, waving to the FSU sideline for assistance and pounding the turf in pain, frustration or possibly both.

When Travis returned to the sidelines for the second half on crutches and sporting a boot on his left foot, FSU was going to be without its starting quarterback for at least a few weeks.

“I did think it was pretty bad,” Travis said of his first impression of the injury. “But God has me. I pray a lot, God has my back and I’m blessed for sure.”

So what did Travis do to go from using crutches on the sideline to starting FSU’s game against Boston College eight days later?

“I was in the training room a lot,” Travis said. “The trainers did a great job this past week just pushing me. I was in there all day long. Kudos to them. The coaches pushed me really hard and my teammates pushed me to get in there. I was there, just working hard.”

Travis says he knew he was going to be able to make it back for the BC game the previous Sunday, the same day he sent out a tweet saying, “Great news…Let’s get it.”

He even says that he wanted to get back into Friday’s game after realizing the injury wasn’t as bad as originally feared, but this was a non-starter for the FSU medical staff.

“The trainers told me that they have to protect me from myself,” Travis said. “I was trying to get back out there.”

One silver lining for Travis of this injury was getting to see the moments backup quarterback Tate Rodemaker had, the first real success of his career after quite a few struggles while leading a comeback win over Louisville.

“It meant the world to me. Seeing what Tate has been through, all the outside noise, he hears it. Us as college players, we hear everything. On social media, we see it at the end of the day,” Travis said. “Seeing him succeed, it meant the world to me. It brought tears to my eyes. Seeing him grow, all the stuff he’s been through, it’s amazing for sure.”

With all the off-field work Travis put in going through frequent treatments, he was able to practice last Wednesday, three days out from the BC game. That was the first real sign that it was possible Travis didn’t miss any starts due to the injury.

“Jordan’s toughness has always been on display, from taking hits to taking shots to getting up and keeping going. We were highly confident that he was going to play as long as he felt like he could,” FSU offensive coordinator Alex Atkins said. “Jordan is a ballplayer. I’m going to sing his praise until the end. His toughness has been on display. Since I’ve known him, he’s always been a tough guy to me.”

And Travis didn’t just play against Boston College. A week after suffering the injury, he had the most productive game of his career, throwing for 321 yards – his first career 300-yard game – and a touchdown despite the fact that he played just one series into the second half due to FSU’s sizable lead.

“When you’re out on the field, you don’t really think about injuries,” Travis said. “You can’t play scared like that so I was just out there playing football.”

After the win, Travis posted a tweet thanking the fans and the atmosphere for their roles in FSU’s convincing win over BC which extended the Seminoles’ record to 4-0. The hashtag on the end of the tweet read “I am a QB.”

Travis continues to prove that on a weekly basis now after questions about it earlier in his time with the Seminoles. Through four games this season, his 945 passing yards are more than double what he had through his first four games in either of the last two seasons. He’s thrown 14 touchdowns and two interceptions in his last 10 games.

He says the message at the end of the tweet isn’t for anyone else. It’s for himself.

“That’s for myself. That’s not for anybody. Anything I tweet is kind of for myself, to tell myself I play quarterback,” Travis said. “Because I hear running back, receiver, whatever I hear, to keep working and getting better every day.”