JORDAN TRAVIS
Former Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis meant everything to this university. While he never won a national championship here, he will be forever remembered. His career was filled with challenging circumstances and adversities.
Travis was thought by some of the fan base as someone who "couldn't throw 15 yards downfield". He was viewed as "just a runner". The signal-caller even thought about leaving the game that he loved. However, those notions were quickly erased as he decided to stick it out and play for head football coach Mike Norvell and then offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham, who is now at Arizona State.
The Seminoles were riding high with Travis as he finished the 2022 season with a 10-3 record, which had the Florida State fan base excited for what the 2023 campaign had to offer. Even though the offense wasn't perfect at times, Travis had weapons such as Trey Benson, Keon Coleman, Johnny Wilson, Jaheim Bell, and others there to keep it churning.
Some outsiders had the Seminoles as a team that could miss the College Football Playoff due to inconsistencies, such as ESPN's Greg McElroy, but Florida State kept competing and putting its best foot forward.
DREADED NIGHT
All of the good vibes within the program came to a screeching halt as Florida State played North Alabama on Senior Night. It was supposed to be a bittersweet moment for Travis and his teammates in Doak Campbell Stadium.
However, in the first quarter of the game, Travis's leg got caught under a defender making a tackle, and he wasn't getting up. Fans in the stadium were stunned as their quarterback's college career was over with a gruesome injury.
Head football coach Mike Norvell reflected on the moment of meeting Travis in the hospital after the injury on former fullback Freddie Stevenson's "Trials to Triumph" platform, where the superstar quarterback told Coach Norvell, "Coach, I'm good."
Jordan Travis was the heart of those FSU teams when he was leading the charge.
— freddie stevenson (@strugglemade105) August 21, 2025
It was tough seeing him get injured during that 2023 season, and not get the chance to compete for a championship pic.twitter.com/rWkwwbw6Qp
Most college athletes would have been devastated. Heck, anyone would have been sad that it happened, but Travis knows that there are bigger things ahead in his life. The West Palm Beach native was drafted by the New York Jets in the fifth round of the NFL Draft, but he had to retire due to his leg not healing properly, as the doctors had originally thought.
The quarterback is an inspiration to us all. Adversity strikes, and Travis keeps pushing even though it seems unbearable. It would be easy to give up and allow the struggles to set in, but he knows that everything will be okay.