Heading into spring practice a year ago, there was no way to know who the starting quarterback was going to be for the Florida State football team.

The coaches didn't know. The players didn't know. The fans, the media, nobody had any real clue whether it would be Jordan Travis or feel-good story McKenzie Milton leading the Seminoles on offense in that first game against Notre Dame.

This year, as long as he's healthy, there's absolutely no question who the starting quarterback will be for FSU. Travis won the job to start last season, lost it briefly, won it back, and then led the Seminoles to a 5-3 record over the final eight weeks of the season -- 5-2 in games he started, with the two losses being at Clemson and at Florida.

So, there's isn't going to be nearly as much intrigue this spring when it comes to the quarterback position. But that doesn't mean there aren't still serious questions about the QB spot as spring practice approaches.

Note: We will be previewing every position group leading up to the start of FSU spring practice on March 5. The annual Garnet & Gold Game is set for April 9.

Earlier position previews: Wide receiver | Running back | Offensive line |

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Florida State has itself a starting quarterback. We do know that.

And Florida State has a whole lot of inexperience behind Travis. With Chubba Purdy hitting the transfer portal in the middle of last season, the Seminoles' depth took a pretty substantial hit. Milton has moved on as well. Meaning Tate Rodemaker, who has thrown just 31 passes in his college career, including only two last season, is the second-most experienced quarterback on the roster.

Freshman A.J. Duffy was a big-time recruit and he enrolled early, so that should help immensely with him getting adjusted to the college game. But there's no guarantee he'll be ready to play if Travis gets dinged up again during the season.

It's imperative Rodemaker and Duffy show they're capable backups this spring, or they might have some company in the position room once fall camp rolls around. In fact, even if they do have good springs, there's a legitimate chance the Seminoles welcome in another quarterback via the portal.

Can Rodemaker or Duffy play in 2022?

Rodmemaker is still just a sophomore, even though this will be his third spring in Tallahassee. So, it's not like there should be a verdict on his entire college career already. But the former Valdosta High star hasn't exactly shined in his few opportunities so far, and now he's got a hot-shot freshman to deal with.

Rodemaker should have an advantage in the race for No. 2, but that doesn't mean he'll finish the spring as the main back-up. As for Duffy, getting in early and learning the playbook could and should be a huge benefit for him this season.

By all accounts, Duffy has the physical tools necessary to be a top-flight college quarterback. But how long will it take him to get adjusted to the speed of the game? That's an element that can't be known truly until practices start.

If Duffy can make significant strides from the start of spring to the finish, then maybe he can not only challenge Rodemaker for the No. 2 spot but maybe make the coaches feel better about the lack of experience behind Travis.

Travis. Obviously.

Over his last three games of the 2021 season, Travis averaged 242.3 yards passing per game. He also averaged 63.3 yards rushing.

He does it differently than some quarterbacks, but the returning FSU starter averaged almost 306 total yards per game in the last three weeks of the season -- including a comeback win over Miami and a road win at Boston College.

For the season, Travis passed for 1,539 yards and rushed for another 530. Which means he totaled 2,069 total yards and 22 total touchdowns in essentially eight full games. And over his final 166 pass attempts of the season, he threw just three interceptions -- one was a Hail Mary to end a half and another was a wide-receiver screen that got blown up.

Travis has proven he can play -- and win -- at this level. He's proven he's more than just a runner. He's a legitimate dual threat. One that still has some growing to do, sure, but one that proved he could very well be a good starting quarterback in the ACC.

And now he'll have more weapons out wide than he's ever had.

That should definitely help the maturation process.

The transfer portal.

When you look at the inexperience behind Travis, and with his history of getting banged up and missing time, the FSU coaching staff might be on the market for a transfer quarterback after spring practice is over.

Especially if they don't think Rodemaker or Duffy will be ready to run the offense if needed. The issue is: What caliber of QB is going to want to transfer to FSU to be Jordan Travis' backup? What can the Seminoles realistically hope to get out of the portal if a starting spot seems locked up already?

Can Norvell and company go get someone with some real experience that can either push Travis for the starting spot or at least be comfortable with being a primary backup?

Or are they going to ride with what they have? And just hope either Rodemaker or Duffy can be ready to take over if Travis were to go down?

To go with each spring position preview, we are posing a question to Warchant subscribers on the Tribal Council to get their perspective. For this installment, we asked if fans believe in how Mike Norvell is handling the quarterback position this offseason.

More than 44 percent of the nearly 600 poll participants said they are fine with Travis as the starter but hope Norvell brings in a backup after the spring. More than 32 percent said they are confident in Norvell's decision either way. Just over 21 percent said FSU should have brought a transfer in to compete with Travis this spring. And 2 percent believe it's a mistake to plan on Travis being the starter.

Here are a few of the Tribal Council's comments:

"I don’t think Duffy is the plan to back up Travis, and Rodemaker would need to make some serious strides to be a viable back up. I don’t think Norvell would go into the next season with an injury prone starter and those options being likely to get playing time. I fully expect a solid back up (for 22, starter for 23) to be added after spring ball." -- caballo blanco

"It all depends on how good Duffy is, right? If behind Jordan we have a freshman that can step in and run the offense like Howell, Lawrence, etc did. Then we will be fine. We know Tate is competent, and hopefully he will show he is able to make solid in-game decisions this year. We could be fine. But I would feel better with at least one more QB that has taken some significant snaps at the college level." -- Squinn67

"If JT stays healthy, gets better pass pro, and the transfer WR's can get open and make plays, I truly believe he can light up the scoreboard. He's already done that on many occasions, even with bad pass pro and pedestrian WR's. The only logical conclusion is that he has a lot of confidence in Duffy, as an early enrollee, who can compete with JT and be ready to go if needed. And I think he likes Tate a lot. Hopefully the light comes on for him this spring. It cannot be understated that our QB's will be better with better pass pro and WR's who can get open." -- madamcz

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Talk about this story with other Florida State fans in the Tribal Council