Corey Clark: Florida State’s Jordan Travis radiates confidence, comfort at third ACC Kickoff

It has become an annual tradition for Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis.

This time every July, Travis flies in a private plane to Charlotte with his head coach and a couple of teammates, walks the halls of the downtown Westin hotel, sits in front of dozens of microphones and cameras, and answers questions about himself and his team.

It’s old hat for the Seminoles’ redshirt senior QB. So much so that the ACC representative moderating his press conference on Wednesday remarked that Travis had set a league record by making his third straight appearance at ACC Kickoff.

To put that in perspective, it’s one more than Willie Taggart made. And it’s the same amount as Mike Norvell — at least in person. (The 2020 Kickoff event was held virtually.)

But even though it’s nothing new for the preseason Heisman Trophy candidate, you best believe Wednesday’s version felt different. So, so different.

When Travis came to ACC Kickoff in 2021, not only was he not even guaranteed to be the starting quarterback that year, but his main competitor, McKenzie Milton, was with him on the trip. And Milton was, by far, the bigger story.

When Travis came back last summer, he no longer had to look over his shoulder at another quarterback answering questions, but he was coming off a 5-7 season and still hadn’t yet sold anyone (outside of himself and his coaches perhaps) that he could be an all-conference player, much less a potential All-American.

Then came Wednesday. When the Florida State quarterback carried himself, and answered questions, like he was the most confident and comfortable person in the room.

It’s almost — almost! — like he’s a completely different guy than the one who was sitting at the podium in July of 2021.

When asked on Wednesday what the difference was between this ACC Kickoff and the previous two, Travis answered honestly that he felt “stressed out” during his first two appearances in Charlotte.

There was none of that this time.

Cool. Calm. Confident. And although it’s not his favorite thing to do by any means, he was great in the interview sessions. He answered questions with real insight, like a person who is completely comfortable with who he is and the journey he has taken.

He’s come so far, in fact, that his head coach was asked repeatedly about his Heisman Trophy chances. I can promise you that wasn’t the case two years ago.

Yet on Wednesday, his head coach said he actually saw the signs of his quarterback turning the corner to national stardom in the spring of 2022.

“I just believe in him,” Norvell said. “I believe in the young man. I believe in his heart. I believe in his unbelievable ability. And we talked about some things that he would need to do (heading into the 2022 season) to continue to grow. And whenever we were finished with the meeting, I basically told him, ‘I want you to go and walk into that lobby and take a look at those [Heisman] trophies.’

“I fully believe he has the talent and [the mind] to win one of those. And obviously last year he took some positive steps in that direction, and now he’s in the conversation. But even today, it’s not about the trophy for Jordan.”

No it is not.

Travis said multiple times Wednesday that he’s not thinking about that award in the least, and he’s solely focusing on preseason practice — which starts next Thursday — and Florida State’s season-opening game against LSU.

But he did share two moments, games from each of the past two seasons, that helped make him who he is today.

He talked about the loss to Florida two years ago. I personally thought that was really telling. He got injured in the first half of that game, and then played the second half in what wound up being a 24-21 loss to end the season.

According to Travis, it was a turning point.

“Hurt my shoulder pretty bad,” he said. “Couldn’t lift my shoulder up at all. And said I’m going to put the team before me. I’ve always been that type of player, but that’s when it finally clicked that I can withstand things that go on in my life and fight through it and help the team win. We obviously didn’t win that game, but I think that helped me a lot and showed me a lot as a player and a person that I’m stronger than I think.

“That’s when it finally clicked after that game. Seeing those guys in that locker room upset and crying, and you’ve got seniors in there and it’s their last game ever … so reality kind of struck that it’s time to go.”

In that game, Travis completed 18 of 29 passes for 202 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He also rushed for 102 yards and a touchdown. Doing most of it with an injured shoulder.

As we all know, he carried that performance into 2022 and became one of the best quarterbacks in the conference. He threw for 3,214 yards, rushed for 414 more, totaled 32 touchdowns and helped lead the Seminoles to 10 wins and a top-10 finish for the first time since 2016.

But it was a loss, he said, that might have been the most impactful single game he played in 2022.

It happened in Raleigh, N.C., a site for quite a few heartbreaks for Florida State over the years. And the loss came when Travis threw an interception in the end zone on a fade route to Mycah Pittman — a play they had scored on in the second quarter.

It stuck with the quarterback.

It still does, in fact.

“That game helped change me as a man and change me as a person and a player,” Travis said. “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.”

That’s easier said than done, of course.

Because that was an absolutely devastating loss for Travis and the Seminoles. The offense didn’t score a single point in the second half. And late in the game, deep in N.C. State territory, down by just one point, the star quarterback threw it to the other team.

“I mean, when you throw a pick to kind of end the game, it hurts a lot,” Travis said. “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.”

It already was.

Florida State only played three close games the rest of the way, and Travis was fantastic in each of those fourth quarters, concluding with a highlight-reel win over the Gators and an MVP performance over Oklahoma in the Cheez-It Bowl.

You could tell on Wednesday, just from listening to him talk and the way he carries himself, that he knows he’s that guy now.

As the kids say these days, he’s him.

And he knows it. Because he’s lived it. And he’s earned it.

This was Travis’ third ACC Kickoff event, sure. But it was his first as THIS guy. And that air of confidence, of calm, that was on full display Wednesday really does make you think that Florida State and its star quarterback have a chance to do something pretty special in 2023.

“Leadership is everything for me,” Travis said. “Trying to grow every year and every day just to be the best teammate I can be for my teammates. I just want to keep growing as a leader and obviously keep putting weight on. I feel like I’m at a good size right now. But yeah, I can’t wait for the season just to get out there and compete against somebody else other than your teammates.

“Every time I get to run out in Doak Campbell Stadium, that in itself is a dream come true. I’m so blessed.”

Contact senior writer Corey Clark at corey@warchant.com.

Talk about this story with other die-hard FSU football fans on the Tribal Council.

The post Corey Clark: Florida State’s Jordan Travis radiates confidence, comfort at third ACC Kickoff appeared first on On3.