Florida State football quarterback Jordan Travis went down with a brutal injury on Saturday, and it appears the Seminoles will be without their unquestioned leader as they chase a College Football Playoff berth.
Travis exited Saturday’s game against North Alabama late in the first quarter after taking a gruesome hit to his left leg on a designed quarterback run.
REQUIRED READING:FSU football quarterback Jordan Travis appears to suffer serious injury, leaves in ambulance
No. 4 Florida State (10-0, 8-0 ACC) has yet to lose this season and has already clinched a spot in the ACC championship game against No. 10 Louisville. Travis, a sixth-year senior and three-year starter for the Seminoles, has been a huge reason for success in 2023, entering Saturday with 2,734 passing yards with 20 touchdowns to two interceptions. Travis has also rushed for seven touchdowns.
The injury came in his final game in Tallahassee, as Saturday’s matchup marked Florida State’s senior night.
REQUIRED READING:Live updates: No. 4 FSU takes lead over North Alabama late in second quarter; Jordan Travis leaves game
Jordan Travis injury update
Travis exited Saturday’s game against North Alabama with a leg injury that was severe enough for him to need to be carted off the field and taken away in an ambulance. No official diagnosis has been issued, but video shows Travis’ ankle at an awkward position.
Players from both programs met at midfield following Travis’ injury as he left the game.
Here’s a video of the injury (warning: graphic).
Travis has since shown pictures of himself and teammates at the hospital, via his Instagram story.
He also provided an update early Sunday, also via his Instagram story:
“Just wanted to let y’all know I’m doing good, feeling good. Got a smile on my face,” Travis said. “Just going to follow God’s plan. God has a journey for me, and I’m going to trust him every step of the way. I appreciate y’all for all the messages. Go Noles.”
This section will be updated.
Mike Norvell comments on Jordan Travis injury
Speaking after the game, FSU coach Mike Norvell spoke at length about Travis’ injury and how it affected the team emotionally.
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What Jameis Winston said of Jordan Travis’ injury
Former Florida State Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jameis Winston was in Tallahassee for the Seminoles’ game and was asked about Travis’ injury in an interview with the TV broadcast.
“Just want to encourage him to stay resilient and continue to persevere,” said Winston, a quarterback for the NFL’s New Orleans Saints who was wearing a Travis jersey at the game. “I think he’s the epitome of that with his journey, his college football career. He was having one of the best years ever in college football and I’m grateful to be rocking his jersey and the significance of his number with us winning a championship in 2013 and him being one of the best quarterbacks this year.
“I just want to continue to lift him up. And just say ‘keep your head up, stand firm, be strong and courageous. Like the Lord has a plan for you that no man, nobody can ever even imagine. So just stay resilient.’ And he has done that. So I know that to him and his family I just wanna pray for his family and their well — he’s gonna be fine. I know he will.”
Jordan Travis stats
| YEAR | CMP-ATT | YDS | TDS-INTS | RUSH YDS | RUSH TDS |
| 2018* | 4-14 (28.6%) | 71 | 1-1 | 40 | 0 |
| 2019 | 6-11 (54.5%) | 79 | 0-0 | 228 | 3 |
| 2020 | 72-131 (55%) | 1,056 | 6-6 | 559 | 7 |
| 2021 | 122-194 (62.9%) | 1,539 | 15-6 | 530 | 7 |
| 2022 | 226-353 (64%) | 3,214 | 24-5 | 417 | 7 |
| 2023 | 205-320 (64.1%) | 2,734 | 20 -2 | 160 | 7 |
Who is Tate Rodemaker?
Tate Rodemaker entered for the Seminoles in relief of Travis on Saturday.
Rodemaker is a redshirt junior who has spent all four years of his college career at Florida State, passing for 550 yards and five touchdowns in four seasons. In Week 3 of the 2022 season, Rodemaker entered for Travis after an injury and led FSU to a 35-31 win over Louisville after passing for 109 yards and two touchdowns on 6-of-10 passing.
Rodemaker was a three-star recruit in the 2020 recruiting class, according to 247Sports’ Composite rankings. The 6-4 passer was also rated the No. 652 player nationally and No. 25 pro-style quarterback.