Coffee with Crawford | Jordan Travis opens up about his time at Louisville: 'It just wasn't right' | Sports

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- One of the things I constantly remind myself when covering college sports is that you never know what athletes are going through. We cover the game between the lines but we know very little of what is happening outside the lines.

Taquan Dean (now known as Taqua Pinero) is my best example of that. At the same time he was starring for Louisville basketball, he was battling all kinds of real-life issues that none of us knew about. He just smiled his way through it. He didn't feel like he could say anything.

That's why when former Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis spoke about his experience at Louisville a few days back, it was of particular interest. Travis left Louisville late in its dismal 2-10 season in 2023, Bobby Petrino's last in Louisville. It was no secret he'd had a hard time here. There were murmurs of abuse.

It's a strange thing about sports that some players can have an awful experience with a coach, while others can have a great one with the same coach. Ask Peyton Siva and Edgar Sosa about their experience under Rick Pitino, you're likely to get two different answers.

But on a recent podcast he does with his brother, "Travis Take Two," Jordan Travis spoke about the difficulties he encountered at Louisville.

"Going to Louisville, I never really got deep into it," Travis said. "Obviously, how I got treated there was not right. There's a lot of things I went through. And I don't want to go — I get scared to go deep into it — but I mean, we're here. I got there, bro, and it just wasn't right. Never really had a fair chance. ... I don't mind being coached hard. (FSU) Coach (Mike) Novell coaches you hard. But there's lines to how people should speak to you, no matter if you're my coach."

Travis said he "was in a dark place" during his time in Louisville but credited his roommate, Yassir Abdullah, with helping him get through it — as well as teammate Jarret Jackson.

"How you speak to a person matters, because we have phones and we see that other coaches aren't doing that stuff," Travis said. "So that wasn't the way I like to be coached. I don't like being told that I don't belong and take your ass back home and ... grabbing my face mask. I don't agree with all that stuff."

Travis said he was suffering from depression during his time here, calling his father often.

"I went through so many roller coaster rides. I drove dad crazy," Travis said. "... I was the most depressed. I considered doing horrible things to myself. I considered all this stuff."

Travis left the team about a month before the end of the season and wound up at Florida State, where he became a Heisman candidate and lead the Seminoles to an unbeaten season in 2023 before suffering what would wind up being a career-ending injury in a win over North Alabama in late November.

Travis' Louisville experience was a mix of issues. Clashes with Petrino. Having to sit behind Jawon Pass and Malik Cunningham. Being away from home for the first time. And, it should be said, some treatment he shouldn't have had to endure.

That he removed himself from the situation, went back to work and achieved what he did is a credit to him. He was drafted in the fifth round by the New York Jets but retired from football before ever playing a game.

You can't help but wonder how things might've been different here had he had a better experience, but it's hard to deny that he didn't wind up where he was meant to be in the end. His was a rare case of fans not holding his departure against him. In his case, it was clearly the right move.

It's also a reminder: There's almost always more to the story.

Quick sips

Kentucky Derby and Oaks winning jockey Brian Hernandez Jr. was in good spirits a day after suffering serious injuries at Churchill Downs, according to trainer Kenny McPeek. He's scheduled to undergo surgery on some broken ribs today. Read an update on his condition here.
The ACC will go to a nine-game conference schedule next season. What will that mean for Louisville's non-conference schedule? Read about it here.
Cutter Boley will get his first SEC start this weekend at South Carolina. A look at the challenge facing him here.