Jordan Travis was having a fairy tale final season at Florida State before his season-ending leg injury.
That injury caused the 24-year-old to slide to the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, where the Jets selected him 171st overall.
While some players might have played the “what if” game, Jordan says he doesn’t think about where he would’ve been selected had he stayed healthy.
“It’s a dream come true, at the end of the day,” Travis said on Saturday. “It’s an opportunity for me to get better. That’s the way I look at it, God has a plan for me.
“Every day I wake up, I just have to be the best person I can be, best teammate I can be at everything I do. It is a dream come true to be here. I love it here and I can’t wait to meet my other teammates.”
During his five seasons at Florida State, Travis threw for 8,644 yards, 66 touchdowns and 22 interceptions. He also rushed for 1,910 yards and 31 TDs.
Travis’ finest season with the Seminoles came in 2023. He finished with 2,756 passing yards, 20 touchdowns, two interceptions and completed 64% of his passes. Travis also led Florida State to its first ACC Championship since 2014 and finished fifth in the Heisman voting.
However, Travis suffered a season-ending broken leg against North Alabama last November that required surgery.
Travis said after his injury, he found inspiration from his family, who helped him endure a challenging time.
“I have a great supporting cast back home,” Travis said. “My family, my friends, they push me every single day. They inspire me to be better.
“My mom goes to work 8 to 5 every single day, so she inspires me.”
Travis came to Florida State and coach Mike Norvell’s program as a raw athletic quarterback with great potential. He left as one of the more accurate passers in the nation.
Travis is accurate in the short and intermediate passing game and excels in play-action. He is also an intelligent decision-maker and has a lightning-quick release.
“Jordan is a dynamic player and obviously a tough injury for him and the team last year, but dynamic player,” Jets general manager Joe Douglas said. “He came on a 30-Visit, just getting a chance to spend time with him and get to know him as a as a person.
“He’s a special guy, you can see why teammates gravitate towards him and why he’s one of the more respected guys when you talk to other players at Florida State. So, we’re just happy to add him.
“He’s coming to a great situation with some unbelievable veteran leadership and kind of similar situation as Olu [Fashanu], but at even at a different level with the two vets we have in the room. So, really cool opportunity for him to learn, develop, and just showcase his ability.”
The plan for the 2024 season is for Travis to sit and observe Aaron Rodgers and Tyrod Taylor. But Gang Green knows that plans sometimes do not work out.
A year ago, the Jets wanted to sit Zach Wilson behind Rodgers after he was the starting quarterback for his first two seasons in the league. But Rodgers tore his Achilles four plays into the Jets season opener against the Bills and missed the rest of the season.
With Rodgers, 40, coming off a severe injury and Taylor, 34, with an extensive injury history, the Jets wanted to add another quarterback to their roster. During his pre-draft press conference, Douglas told reporters that he wants to develop a “quarterback factory,” much like the Packers did during the 1990s and 2000s.
Travis enters the Jets’ situation knowing he is the third-string quarterback. But there could come a day when he becomes Rodgers’ heir apparent.
“I do think about that a lot,” Travis said. “Right now, I’m just focused on my rehab and just getting healthy and getting everybody around me better, and being a great teammate.”
Travis did not participate during the Jets rookie minicamp this weekend. He is still rehabbing his leg but has been cleared to return to some activities.
During the rehab process, Travis has been doing movement exercises and squatting. During the two-day minicamp, Travis rode a stationary bike off to the side.
“I feel great,” Travis said. “Just focusing on rehab and doing my best and just trying to get ready as fast as possible, obviously, that’s the goal. Just try to get 100% and get better every day.”
Jets coach Robert Saleh told reporters on Friday that Travis won’t partake in OTAs and mandatory minicamp, but he should be cleared for training camp in late July.
“We feel like he’s kind of a ball of clay,” Saleh said about Travis. “A lot of these kids are coming from college and the style of college, its tremendous schemes, but they’re more tailor-made to what they can and can’t do rule-wise at the college level.
“You’re getting these quarterbacks who when it comes to footwork and throwing motion and just being able to process and working in an NFL offense, getting under center, controlling the huddle, all that good stuff. There are so many things that we feel like we can build on that athleticism. So, there’s a lot of excitement with regards to that.”
