Jordan Travis is no stranger to quarterback competitions at Florida State.
The West Palm Beach native has had to prove himself worthy to others around him. Even as the Seminoles prepare to wrap up spring football camp next week with Travis as the clear-cut starter, there will always be competition.
“Jordan is our starting quarterback,” coach Mike Norvell reiterated after FSU’s second scrimmage Saturday. “He’s done a phenomenal job. You better have competition at every position. Does that push guys? Yes, and you need to be pushed; everybody does.”
While Travis has cemented the top spot in the quarterback room, the competition between redshirt sophomore Tate Rodemaker and true freshman AJ Duffy has drawn interest.
“It’s exciting to see how they’re competing,” said Norvell. “Tate and AJ are showing that they are competing to be ready when their numbers are called.”
Rodemaker was thrown into the mix early as a true freshman in 2020, playing in four games with one start. Since then, it’s been the way he’s embraced the nuances of what it takes to be a college quarterback that’s impressed his coaches.
“He’s doing what I expected him to do,” said Norvell. “I saw steps last year in what he was doing, but I knew this would be a big spring for him. He’s shown confidence and the execution — he’s not a finished product and still has a lot of work to do, but seeing him come in and how he’s growing — I’m impressed.”
His performance in Saturday’s scrimmage drew praise, but new offensive coordinator Alex Atkins doesn’t believe this is a case where Rodemaker is pushing Travis for the starting job just yet.
“I don’t think it’s more about pushing Jordan; it’s just becoming the best quarterback he can become,” said Atkins. “Of course, we look at everything as a competition in football, and this is more of Tate becoming the best player he can become and getting better each day. Jordan is the QB, but I like to see Tate progress just like Jordan had before he was the guy.
“Competition comes with the job, but everyone’s job is to become better each day.”
Norvell has seen the transformation from Travis, who went from third-stringer to starter in two short seasons.
“He’s done a lot of things throughout his career and even the improvement he’s shown from the fall to the spring,” Norvell said. “He is in a much better place than he was at any point last year just in his skill set and understanding of the offense.
“It’s been fun to see and I’m excited about that quarterback group and the steps that we’ve seen and the competition.”
Dent shines for defense
The defense drew strong praise for its performance in Saturday’s scrimmage for the second week in a row. Again, the first-team unit was disruptive, creating miscues and shifting momentum, including redshirt junior defensive back Akeem Dent.
“He had two big picks today and that’s what a safety does,” said defensive coordinator Adam Fuller. “I do think Akeem is feeling comfortable. Akeem needs to be put in a position and once you tell him what to do, he’s very good at doing it.”
Dent is one of the veterans in the secondary, having appeared in 30 games (18 starts) during his career. He’s coming off a career season in 2021, where he had 44 tackles with 5 pass breakups and an interception and is one of 10 defensive backs to feature starting experience.
“Akeem is a very talented young man,” said Norvell. “He has excellent range and speed. That playmaking ability is something that has made the transition from corner to safety [better]; it’s put him in a great spot to utilize all of those talents.
“He’s doing a good job in the run game and he’s doing a good job in the passing game. You see the confidence and communication and things that are necessary to let him play at the next level.”
Added Fuller: “At his best, he’s a multi-tool player. He can tackle, cover, make plays on the ball, blitz — he can do a lot of things. It’s just about making sure he’s confident in everything we’re telling him to do and that comes with reps, that comes with clean and concise coaching to make sure that it makes sense to him.”
Poitier growing into role
While the Seminoles’ first-team offense struggled with turnovers and negative plays during Saturday’s scrimmage, Norvell praised the performance of the second-team unit. Among those to stand out was redshirt sophomore receiver Kentron Poitier.
“Kentron Poitier had a huge catch there today in a backed-up situation,” said Norvell. “He put together some impressive plays that we saw earlier in the spring.”
Poitier has been used sparingly in the offense, with 8 catches for 61 yards in 17 games. But the 6-foot-3 wideout has shown flashes of potential throughout his first two seasons, leading some to wonder what it will take to become a consistent contributor.
“I don’t think people realize he’s still relatively new to football in the sense of having to go out there and his physical development,” said Norvell. “He’s done a great job in the weight room. When we got here, he was thrown into situations probably a little quicker than we necessarily wanted because we knew there would be a growth process.
“His first year, you would see a flash play, but for him to stack positive plays on top of each other was something he had to work at. Last year, you started seeing him do that. Now it’s time for him to let that confidence show up.”
This article first appeared on OrlandoSentinel.com. Email Matt Murschel at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter at @osmattmurschel.
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