Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis presents unique challenge for Pitt
Share this post:
Charlie Partridge always picks his words carefully when he speaks to anyone — players or reporters — and he caught himself Tuesday when he was asked about Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis.
“I’m certainly not going to compare him to (Patrick) Mahomes, but some of the out-of-position throws that he makes are special,” Pitt’s defensive line coach said.
Of course, just mentioning Travis and Mahomes in the same brief interview session suggests Pitt will have its hands more than full when No. 4 and undefeated Florida State visits Acrisure Stadium on Saturday
“He’s tremendous with his feet. He’s got a tremendous arm. He can throw off-balance passes,” Partridge said.
And Partridge should know what Travis does best. He recruits Florida for the Panthers, and he ran across Travis repeatedly when he was in high school in West Palm Beach.
But what Partridge and his players remember most vividly is what Travis did to Pitt three years ago.
“He had a great first half against us when we played them in 2020,” Partridge said. “He popped off a very long (88-yard touchdown) run against us in that game. It’s a play they still run, and we’re very aware of.”
After he was injured and left that game in Tallahassee, Fla., Pitt ended up winning 41-17.
Travis, 23, is a different quarterback this season than he was in those dark days of the pandemic. He has completed 64.8% of his passes for 2,109 yards, with 18 touchdowns and only two interceptions.
“He’s gotten better in fine-tuning his skill sets, but he’s always been a great athlete and a great player,” said Pitt cornerback A.J. Woods, who made his first career start against FSU in 2020.
“The guy doesn’t make mistakes,” Pitt coach Pat Narduzzi said. “And he’s confident. The guy plays with swagger, too. He gets a run, he looks like he’s a linebacker, just the emotion. He plays with emotion and passion. He is the leader of that football team, guaranteed.
“I think Jordan Travis is playing about at as high of a level as any quarterback in the country.”
Plus, the stakes are high for the Seminoles (8-0), who are on track to reach the four-team College Football Playoff.
The Seminoles are difficult to defend with Travis’ athleticism, running ability — he’s gained 205 yards and scored six touchdowns on the ground — and the players around him.
Wide receivers Johnny Wilson (a 6-foot-7 Arizona State transfer) and Michigan State transfer Keon Coleman (6-4) are threats in the passing game. But Narduzzi has this warning for his players: “I mean, you cover those guys, (Travis) is taking off running.”
The mastermind behind one of the nation’s best teams is Seminoles coach Mike Norvell, who was calling plays as Pitt’s co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers coach in 2011.
Norvell spent only one season at Pitt, but he told TribLive in 2020 that he recalls fondly time spent with Pitt associate athletic director Chris LaSala and now-retired director of player development Bob Junko.
“I think Chris is one of the greatest professionals I’ve been around,” Norvell said. “Bob Junko definitely had an impact on my coaching career, just seeing the energy and spirit he brought to the office every day.”
Partridge said Norvell does a good job studying his opponents’ tendencies and finding what might work against them.
“He does a great job of taking plays that hurt you earlier in the year,” Partridge said. “As you look at their film, there are plays that maybe they haven’t done in previous weeks and we do a deep dive, he pulled that from a previous game that hurt that team.
“He’s very willing, within his system, to put a new play or two in if it’s hurt you structurally. That’s one of the things Mike Norvell is really good at. You have to tip your hat to the job he has done there from a recruiting standpoint and a culture standpoint.”