FSU football: Top 12 players developed in Mike Norvell era

Jordan Travis-Transfer

Jordan Travis is technically a transfer, but he barely touched the field at Louisville before transferring to FSU while Willie Taggart was the head coach. Ironically, Taggart didn't believe Jordan Travis could play QB and opted not to give him a shot during the 2019 season. The move might have cost him his job, as Travis didn't touch the field in the first nine games. However, he made his first appearance in FSU uniform in the first game after Willie Taggart got fired and scored a touchdown on the first snap he took against Boston College. Travis was electric with the ball in his hands as a runner, but limited as a passer. He struggled to throw the ball consistently in 2020 and early 2021, battling James Blackman and McKenzie Milton for the starting job. However, once Travis secured the starting job midway through the 2021 season, I don't think I've seen a player develop more as a college player. I remember Jordan Travis throwing a pass to the flats clearly over Jashaun Corbin's head in the 2021 opener against Notre Dame. It wasn't close, and I thought there's no way he'll be a legit QB. However, the last three games of the 2021 season caught my attention. I wrote about it here with bigger expectations going into the 2022 season. Jordan Travis evolved from a guy nobody thought could pass to a guy who was a legitimate Heisman Trophy contender before an injury ended his FSU career. If you said Jordan Travis would get drafted by an NFL team in 2021, everybody would have laughed at you. However, Jordan Travis was a sixth round selection of the NY Jets in the 2024 NFL Draft. He likely would have gotten drafted higher if not for the injury.   

Parting Thoughts

There you have it, the top 12 players developed by the FSU coaching staff in the Mike Norvell era. How crazy is it there were six players from the high school ranks and six from the transfer portal? Yet, folks want to say FSU can't develop high school or transfers. What a joke.