Patrick Payton reveals the biggest lesson he learned from Jordan Travis

There are few better ways to describe a player’s legacy than to have some of his old teammates chime in. And former teammates rave about the legacy quarterback Jordan Travis left at Florida State.

Defensive lineman Patrick Payton was quick to point to Travis at the ACC Kickoff when asked about players who have made the most difference to him in his career.

“The main player was really Jordan Travis, because just knowing how Jordan Travis treated everybody, he knew he was at the top of the food chain but it was like he was the best guy in the room,” Payton said. “He was probably the best player on the team. But he never acted like it. He never wanted all the media attention all for himself. He always wanted to make sure his teammates were good. That’s one person who I definitely got that from for sure.”

Payton himself tries to model his persona on that selfless attitude Jordan Travis always carried around.

He’s a vitally important piece to Florida State’s defense in 2024, but he wants to be a leader as much for his work off the field as his impact on it. Both could be considerable.

“Really the biggest thing I think leaving here when I leave here is going to be how I became a man,” Payton explained. “Coming from Miami I was a little ahead of the game, but I was still young, still learning, still really ain’t know about nothing for real.”

Much of that has changed. Not only due to players like Travis, but due to the culture coach Mike Norvell has established in Tallahassee.

Everyone is supposed to mirror the actions of Jordan Travis, a team effort pushing in the right direction both in the community and within the confines of the locker room.

“Coach Norvell really installed into all of us that you have to be just as great off the field as you have to be on the field,” Payton explained. “Because once you take care of the off the field stuff, everything matters: homework, treatment, how you treat people, how you talk to people. Even if you see somebody on the street and you don’t know them, just say, ‘Hey, how you doing?’ Ask them.

“Stuff like that I didn’t do coming out of high school, that’s something that coach Norvell, that I love that he installed in me. If I have kids one day I’d install in them too.”

In many ways, Payton has Jordan Travis to thank. As do countless other Seminoles. The Florida State gunslinger set a pretty excellent example.