Heisman and Championship hopes: How Jordan Travis, FSU players are dealing with hype
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Following the conclusion of spring practices in 2022, Florida State football head coach Mike Norvell challenged Jordan Travis.
The FSU quarterback was coming off a season where he threw 15 touchdowns and six interceptions across 10 games, as the Seminoles were denied bowl eligibility with a 5-7 record.
Despite the struggles and the injuries, Norvell continued to believe in his quarterback, giving him the confidence that even Travis did not hold at the time.
“At our exit meeting, at the end of it, I told Jordan I want you to walk into the lobby and look at the three Heisman Trophies,” Norvell told the local media at the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) Football Kickoff Wednesday morning.
“I told him at that point, before we played in a game last year, that ‘I believe you can win one.’ It’s a bold statement, but I believe in it. I believe in him. I believe in the growth I’ve seen and the growth I know is still ahead. It’s also one of those awards it takes everybody. We’re all a part of it.”
Travis responded in a big way during the 2022 season and has been building Heisman Trophy talks as he enters his redshirt senior season.
He credited the encouragement from his head coach.
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"It means a lot, having someone believe in you," Travis said. "Sometimes that's all it takes is one person who believes in you, especially someone with that magnitude. When you're head coach believes in you, that's all you need for confidence. He pushes me every single day. He took a chance on me.
"I had an opportunity and just rolled with it.
Travis is seeking to join former Seminole greats Charlie Ward (1993) Chris Weinke (2000) and Jameis Winston (2013), to win the honors. FSU has already kicked off a campaign in support of Travis.
“I believe in him,” Norvell said. “I watched him in meeting rooms, I’ve watched him. I know the ability and things throughout the course of his career. I knew what we were going to ask of him.
“As he’s grown in confidence with the timing, the rhythm. Everyone points to him as a great athlete, which he is … but he is a quarterback. He is accurate, he can push the ball downfield and he’s smart.
“I’ve been fortunate to coach a lot of very productive quarterbacks, he’s a special one. I’ve believed in where it would go and there’s nothing that has shocked me. I think he is still scratching the surface of what he can do."
Travis led all QBs with an overall Pro Football Focus offensive grade of 91.8 and finished with career-highs in completion percentage (64%), yards (3,214) and touchdowns (24) while throwing five interceptions. He also added 417 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground.
"At the end of the day, this is a football team and our goal is to win every day," Travis said when asked about being a Heisman contender.
"We don't want a bunch of selfish guys here and I feel like coach Norvell does a really good job of instilling that in us. If I go a game where I throw zero touchdowns and throw for a hundred yards and we win the game and we hand the ball off over and over, I'm a happy person."
Travis, along with defensive end Jared Verse and linebacker Kalen DeLoach joined Norvell as the representatives for FSU at The Westin Charlotte in Charlotte, North Carolina.
For Travis, this was his third year appearing at the media days.
“The first two years I was here, I was nervous coming into this,” Travis said. “Now I am happy to be here, confident as can be in coming out here and talking about this football team.”
NC State loss helped changed Jordan Travis
Travis led FSU down the field with a chance to tie or take the lead in a road game against NC State last season. The game ended when Travis threw a pick in the end zone.
After the game, Travis blamed himself for the loss and used it as a motivator for himself.
"I always look back on the NC State game," Travis said. "That game helped change me as a man and change me as a person and a player.
"It made me a lot tougher, and I've learned a lot from that. Yeah, man, you have to take these experiences and turn them all into positives."
In the loss, Travis completed just 50% of his passes and it was the only game in which he threw multiple picks in 2022.
He only had one game worse for the season in terms of passing completion percentage.
"When you throw a pick to kind of end the game, it hurts a lot. You feel like you let everybody down.
"At the end of the day my teammates let me know that they have my back. That was the most important thing. I put it down all on myself, and my teammates did not allow that to happen.
"It made me a tougher person. Obviously it hurt right after the game pretty bad. It sucks. But at the end of the day it's football. You learn from it. If I was ever put in that position again, man, I can promise you it would be way different."
Growing number of weapons
The Seminoles receiving core is still as strong as ever, even with the departure of two starters in Pokey Wilson (graduation) and Mycah Pittman (transfer to Utah).
Johnny Wilson led the team in receiving last season and is a key returner, while the addition of Michigan State transfer Keon Coleman deepens the room. Wilson hovers at 6-foot-7, while Coleman is 6-3.
Kentron Poitier, who had a big spring, is emerging as another lengthy weapon and slot wideouts Ja'Khi Douglas and Winston Wright provide speedy weapons who can play both inside and outside.
South Carolina transfer Jaheim Bell as well as Kyle Morlock, a D-2 transfer from Shorter, as well as the returning Markeston Douglas, are pieces of a stacked tight end room.
Running back Trey Benson was the most elusive running back last season, according to Pro Football Focus and Lawrance Toafili provides a good receiving option out of the backfield.
The offensive line boasts the most returning players with starts in college football.
"We've got weapons across the entire field," he said. "Offensive line has been working really hard. Keon's been gelling really well and just working hard."
Championship aspirations
FSU is likely to be picked as the preseason favorite to win the ACC Championship by the media. The polls are scheduled to be released next week.
It would be the first conference championship for the Seminoles since 2014 and the first one under Norvell.
Beyond that, the Seminoles remain a team with a chance to play in the College Football Playoffs.
With all the focus nationally on the Seminoles' chances to contend being different than the past three years, Norvell said he’s trying to keep the team focused.
“I want people to be talking about Florida State, our team, our players, each individual,” Norvell said. “I hope every player’s up for a national award because it’s a celebration of what you’ve done. But ultimately you’ve got to do it. …
“I think our guys are handling the outside noise. I think they are handling it well. But I am going to be there if we ever lose track.”
The players said the championship talk has been in the locker room. But they are focusing on improving and not looking ahead.
FSU finished with its first 10-win season since 2016, won the state championship with wins over Florida and Miami for the first time since 2016 and capped the season with a Cheez-It Bowl victory over Oklahoma to finish with 10 wins.
“We know what we’re capable of,” DeLoach said. “But we want to focus on things, more so every day. We want to focus on each game, week by week. We never look ahead. There’s a lot of people talking about it, but we’re focused on what we need to do.”
Reach Ehsan Kassim at ekassim@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter at @Ehsan_Kassim. You can also follow our coverage on Facebook (NoleSports) and Instagram (tlhnolesports).
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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: FSU football: Jordan Travis, Seminoles players talk preseason hype
