Corey Clark: Trips to Boston tell story of Jordan Travis’ incredible Florida State career

I don’t know exactly where Jordan Travis was born.

I assume a hospital in somewhere in South Florida, with older brother Devon sitting in the waiting room wearing his little-league baseball uniform. That’s how I picture it anyway!

But I know where Jordan Travis the college football player was born.

That was at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Mass., on Nov. 9, 2019.

It was the first game after Willie Taggart was fired by Florida State. Odell Haggins was the interim head coach. And Haggins, unlike Taggart, had the forethought to actually use the weapon on his team wearing No. 13.

Travis scored on a 26-yard run the first time he touched the ball. He then put the game away in the fourth quarter with a 66-yard TD run.

Keep in mind, this was a kid who couldn’t get on the field at all under the previous head coach — even though his competition at quarterback was James Blackman and Alex Hornibrook!

Think about that fact as Travis and the Seminoles return to Boston to take the field once again on Saturday afternoon.

Think about how far this team has come, sure, but also think about how you can trace the trajectory of Travis’ Florida State career through his appearances at Alumni Stadium.

In 2019, he was an absolute unknown. I have to imagine the Boston College defenders were saying to themselves, “Hey, wait. Who is No. 13? And why am I looking at his ass and elbows as he runs away from me?”

In 2021, he was a starting quarterback who had yet to fully find himself. He came to Boston that afternoon with a 4-6 football team, hoping to pull off an upset win over the Eagles. Travis played maybe his best game of the year that afternoon, helping Florida State race out to a 26-3 lead and then holding on for dear life as the home team — and the officiating crew — mounted a comeback.

And now here we are in 2023.

Florida State is not an underdog.

In fact, Florida State is a four-touchdown favorite and ranked No. 3 in the country. And the quarterback who was birthed four years ago in Chestnut Hill is now a legitimate Heisman Trophy candidate.

When talking about FSU’s roster earlier this week, Boston College head coach Jeff Hafley ran through all the positions. He talked about how much depth the Seminoles have on the defensive line, how every time they bring in new wide receivers they’re tall and fast, how much experience the offensive line has, and how deep the running back room is.

But he wasn’t done with the praise.

“And then there’s the quarterback,” Hafley said. “He’s just gotten better and better. If you turn on the tape from when we played them two years ago, he was young. And then he got better. And now he’s probably one of the best players in all of college football.”

Nobody in that stadium, not even Travis himself perhaps, knew this was possible four years ago when he took that first snap of his Florida State career.

And even two years ago, when he threw for 251 yards and three touchdowns in that stadium, there weren’t many more people who believed he’d be thought of as one of the best players in the sport two years later.

But just as important, it’s doubtful anyone saw a chance for Mike Norvell and his staff to turn this team into what it has become this quickly.

Sure, upsets can happen. Sure, if the Seminoles don’t play well on Saturday, the Eagles can very much make it a game. It’s college football. Nothing is guaranteed.

Two years ago, though, Florida State went into that building as an underdog. Against Boston College. And was on its way to a 5-7 record.

Now, as his team prepares to face the Seminoles less than two years later, Hafley is saying this about the roster and program Norvell has built in Tallahassee.

“They overwhelm teams with their depth and their speed,” Hafley said. “They have a lot of talented players, and they do a good job of using them all. That’s the biggest thing I see. But offensively, the receivers, the running backs, the quarterback, I mean it’s a great football team.

“One of the best in the country. Maybe the best team that I’ve seen in a long time.”

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

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

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