Florida State QB Jordan Travis named ACC Player of Year

Releases from FSU and the ACC

Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis was voted the ACC’s Player of the Year and Offensive Player of the Year, it was announced Wednesday.

Voting for the awards was conducted by a 65-member voting panel consisting of 51 selected media and the conference’s 14 head coaches.

Travis was 207-of-324 passing for 2,756 yards and 20 touchdowns with only two interceptions while adding 176 yards and seven touchdowns on 73 rushing attempts. He is the only player in the ACC and one of three nationally with 20 passing touchdowns and two or fewer interceptions and leads the ACC in fewest interceptions thrown, the second-lowest total among quarterbacks nationally with at least 200 attempts, and ranks second in the conference in passing efficiency, yards per pass attempt and passing yards per game. He ranks third in the ACC in points responsibility per game, yards per completion, total offense per game and completion percentage.

He is Florida State’s all-time leader in total offense and touchdowns responsible for, records he achieved earlier this year, and previously broke program records for quarterback rushing yards and quarterback rushing touchdowns. Travis broke FSU’s career touchdown responsibility record on his game-winning touchdown pass in overtime at Clemson and took over the program’s career total offense record on his go-ahead rushing touchdown in Florida State’s win against No. 16 Duke.

Travis, a redshirt senior from West Palm Beach, led the Seminoles to an undefeated 8-0 mark in ACC play, the program’s 10th unbeaten conference record and first since 2014, and was the quarterback of record for each of FSU’s first 11 wins in 2023. A three-time ACC Quarterback of the Week honoree, Travis began the season with a career-high four touchdown passes and a fifth touchdown on the ground in FSU’s 45-24 win over No. 5 LSU. In the second half against the Tigers, Travis had an ESPN QBR of 99.9, the highest rating in a half by any quarterback nationally against a ranked opponent since Jameis Winston in 2013.

He is the only player in FSU history and the only active player nationally with at least seven rushing touchdowns in four straight seasons, and his 31 career rushing touchdowns are fourth on FSU’s career list. He also is tied with Winston for second in FSU history with 65 passing touchdowns and is the only player in program history ranked in the top-10 in career passing and rushing touchdowns. Travis also ranks second on FSU’s all-time career lists for passing yards and wins as a starting quarterback while standing third in completions and completion percentage.

Travis has been prolific at putting points on the scoreboard this season. He produced a program-record streak of 16 straight games accounting for multiple touchdowns and also tied his own school record with a streak of four consecutive games with at least one rushing and one passing touchdown. Travis also produced a streak of 22 consecutive games with at least one touchdown pass, a streak that ended on Nov. 18 when he was injured in the first quarter.

Earlier this season, Travis produced a stretch of 184 consecutive passes without an interception, the fifth-longest in FSU history and 13th-longest in ACC history. He had an active streak of 126 passes without an interception at the time of his season-ending injury and is the only player in program history with two streaks of at least 120 passes without an interception in the same season. Adding a streak of 120 passes in 2021, he is the only player at Florida State with three different streaks of at least 120 passes without an interception in a career.

Travis is Florida State’s seventh ACC Player of the Year and first since 2013 when Winston earned the award. Charlie Ward earned the distinction in 1992 and 1993, Danny Kanell won the honor in 1995, Andre Wadsworth was voted the best player in the conference in 1997, and Chris Weinke earned the award in 2000.

This marks the third consecutive season the Seminoles have earned an individual ACC award under the direction of head coach Mike Norvell. In 2021, Jermaine Johnson II was the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year and in 2022 Patrick Payton was the Defensive Rookie of the Year.

Travis was also named a semifinalist for the Walter Camp Player of the Year, Maxwell Award, Davey O’Brien Award and Jason Witten Man of the Year as well as being included on the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Top 10.

*** Sign up for premium access to Warchant.com and the On3 Network ***

Wilson named Defensive Player of Year

NC State linebacker Payton Wilson was named Defensive Player of the Year. Wilson eclipsed the 400-career tackle mark in the final week of the regular season, just one of five active FBS players to achieve the feat. Throughout his storied career for the Wolfpack, Wilson has accumulated stats that rank him inside the top 10 of active FBS players in total tackles, tackles per game, solo tackles, solo tackles per game, assisted tackles, assisted tackles-for-loss, total tackles-for-loss, and tackles-for-loss per game.

Wilson leads the conference and ranks fifth nationally this season with 138 tackles and an average of 11.5 tackles per game and has tallied the most total tackles for a Wolfpack player in a single season since Earl Wolff had 145 in 2012.

On nine occasions this season, Wilson recorded double-digit stops, highlighted by a 16-tackle game against Miami. Wilson also added 6.0 sacks and 17.5 tackles-for-loss, with his tackles behind the line of scrimmage the most among ACC defenders. The Hillsborough, North Carolina, native has added a trio of interceptions, a forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries to his resume.

Over a four-game stretch against Virginia, Louisville, Marshall, and Duke, Wilson recorded at least one-half sack and 10 tackles in each game, highlighted by a two-sack showing against Louisville and a 14-tackle game versus Marshall.

A complete breakdown of the 2023 ACC Football Player of the Year voting:

Player of the Year

Jordan Travis – Florida State (31)

Payton Wilson – NC State (25)

Malik Washington – Virginia (4)

Drake Maye – North Carolina (3)

Jeremiah Trotter Jr. – Clemson (1)

Offensive Player of the Year

Jordan Travis – Florida State (42)

Malik Washington – Virginia (12)

Drake Maye – North Carolina (8)

Jawhar Jordan – Louisville (1)

Omarion Hampton – North Carolina (1)

Defensive Player of the Year

Payton Wilson – NC State (58)

Ashton Gillotte – Louisville (3)

Jeremiah Trotter Jr. – Clemson (2)

Kalen DeLoach – Florida State (1)

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