Mike Norvell reacts to Jordan Travis' strong play, how he learned his QB1 was ready to go

No. 23 Florida State appears to have one of the best quarterbacks in the ACC, which is saying something considering how many good ones there are. But for the Seminoles, Jordan Travis‘ strong play has been a huge part of a 4-0 start.

Travis, who was injured in a win over Louisville on Sept. 16, battled to be able to play in last week’s 44-14 win over Boston College. His intensity in rehab assured coach Mike Norvell he was good to go.

“On Wednesday I was actually pretty certain he was going to play,” Norvell revealed after the win. “I was just so proud of him for the way that — we had good reports this weekend, wasn’t able to go on Tuesday — he was pouring everything he had into getting treatment, doing the things. He absolutely wanted to play in this game.”

Travis made it count, to say the least.

He didn’t appear terribly limited in the big win over the weekend, going 16-of-26 passing for 321 yards and a touchdown. He did not throw an interception and he also added one carry for 16 yards.

“That’s what I just (love), the competitive spirit that he has and seeing that growth and just the maturity that he had,” Norvell said. “We got done with Wednesday I felt very confident that he was going to come out and play well. He definitely did that, and just even in some of the situations where things broke down a little bit, I mean just his poise that he was able to show was really, really good.”

Jordan Travis’ strong play has FSU ranked again

It’s hard to believe, but prior to this week’s appearance at No. 23 in the AP Top 25, Florida State hadn’t been ranked since it debuted at No. 19 in the preseason poll in 2018.

A Week 1 loss to Virginia Tech that year ended that quickly.

If Florida State hopes to remain ranked going forward it’ll need Travis to continue developing. And it’ll also need Jordan Travis’ strong play to continue, which will require him to stay healthy.

If he can, the Seminoles could be a legitimate threat in the ACC.

“I think Jordan is putting himself in a position to do some really special things,” Norvell said. “If he keeps doing the things that (he’s doing), and the way that he’s investing, it’s going to be fun to watch.”

Through four games, Travis has gone 60-of-91 passing for 945 yards and five touchdowns with one interception. He’s also rushed 15 times for 48 yards and a score.

Florida State can make a pretty definitive statement about just how far the program has come in about two and a half years under Norvell’s direction over the next three weeks. Florida State will host No. 22 Wake Forest this weekend, travel to No. 10 NC State on Oct. 8 and then host No. 5 Clemson on Oct. 15 prior to a bye week.