FSU QB competition remains unresolved
Growth at the position, but no clear-cut starter yet
Offensive coordinator lauds players’ grasp of the system, does not say who is the frontrunner for the starting role.
Following a season in which Florida State struggled to develop consistency at the quarterback position, the Seminoles wrapped up their first full spring camp under coach Mike Norvell with a sense of overwhelming growth at the position.
“The grasp of this system in terms of the quarterbacks is so much greater,” FSU offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham said. “I wasn’t installing this spring, I was teaching football, and that’s where in my opinion you make your biggest growth.”
While much of the focus this spring has been on overall development, the Seminoles can’t ignore that when they open the season against Notre Dame Sept. 5, one of the four quarterbacks on the roster will get the start against the Fighting Irish.
Former UCF transfer McKenzie Milton, who started 33 games for the Knights, provides the Seminoles
with much-needed experience and a veteran presence in the quarterback room.
Jordan Travis, Tate Rodemaker and Chubba Purdy may be young but they’re not untested. All three were forced to play last season due to injuries and inconsistencies in the offense.
“I think your biggest compe
tition is yourself,” Travis said after Saturday’s spring game. “I don’t look at it as a big competition. We’re just trying to get each other better because we’re teammates at the end of the day.”
Travis took most of the snaps while starting six games in 2020, finishing with 1,625 total yards of offense with 13 total touchdowns.
“The growth in him — you can’t put it in words,” Dillingham said of Travis, a redshirt sophomore. “I could try and describe it, but I can’t put it in words, not just as a football player but as a person and as a leader. Everything about him — there’s not a word that would do it justice for the growth he’s made.
“He’s raised his standard of living in every aspect of his life. He’s raised his standard of what a work ethic is on the field. There were days when you would see his work ethic, and then he would give just a little bit more. That was the challenge for him. You’ve raised the baseline. You practice well every single day and some days you practiced better and you gave a little bit more. Now that’s the next step. We’ve created the baseline of good, you’ve shown you can be great. Now let’s be consistent in the next step.”
Travis wasn’t the only quarterback to impress FSU coaches this spring.
Milton’s recovery from a devasting knee injury in 2018 that nearly cost him his leg has been nothing short of miraculous. He took the field again for the first time at the Gold and Garnet spring game Saturday at Doak Campbell Stadium. Milton would be considered a favorite for the starting job, but the redshirt senior hasn’t played football in more than two years.
“Obviously, he knew football, but you’re talking about a kid who hasn’t played in a live setting or as close to a live setting in close to two years and [he’s] in a new system, so every single day he got a little more comfortable,” Dillingham explained. “He had his good days and his bad days, and he got a little bit more comfortable and learned from his mistakes. When you’re in a new system, all you can ask is: don’t make the same mistake twice.”
Added Milton, “You can’t control what the other guys are doing out there, but it’s been a blessing to learn from each other.”
When asked whether Travis is the frontrunner for the job out of spring, Dillingham took a more diplomatic approach in his answer.
“It is exactly what we wanted,” Dillingham said. “We brought in a guy with a ton of experience, a guy who understands what it takes to be successful in McKenzie Milton, and we paired him with a young group, and McKenzie has raised the bar in our quarterback room. The standard that McKenzie holds for himself has raised the bar of our room. It’s raised the bar of Jordan, Tate, Chubba and Geno, everybody by how he attacks every day and his competitive nature.
“That was a big reason to bring him here . ... We knew the person he was, and combined with the fact that’s he’s healthy, you can never have too many good quarterbacks. I am blessed to be in the situation that I’m in.”