FRISCO, Texas — Jordan Travis is walking around with the quarterbacks at East-West Shrine Bowl practice. He’s in meetings; he’s taking coaching and throwing a little on the sideline. He’s supporting his several Florida State teammates here. But he’s not practicing.

He’s in a medical boot, a bit more than two months removed from the devastating lower leg injury that ended his Florida State career and changed the college football season and, for now, Travis’ life.

“We’re taking steps,” Travis said Sunday. “At this moment, I get to wake up in the morning, so I’m blessed, and I’ll have a smile on my face no matter what. I’ll be out here pretty soon.”

He got off crutches just before coming to Texas. It’ll be months before he’s fully back on the field. He’s here to focus on his future.

But he hasn’t fully gotten over the past. He might never, understandably so. Few players have endured such a heartbreaking string of events. The ankle injury against North Alabama on Nov. 18 ended his season and college career. Two weeks later, an undefeated Florida State was left out of the College Football Playoff in place of one-loss Alabama, becoming the first undefeated Power 5 team to miss the field.

Sitting in a wheelchair with his leg propped up at FSU’s watch party on Dec. 3, a stunned Travis put his head in a towel when the spot was revealed on ESPN. The committee said FSU wasn’t the same team without Travis. The quarterback tweeted that he was heartbroken and wished he’d broken his leg earlier in the season so the Seminoles had more time to prove how good they were without him. Without a CFP spot, most of FSU’s stars opted out of the Orange Bowl, a 63-3 loss to Georgia.

devastated. heartbroken. In so much disbelief rn, I wish my leg broke earlier in the season so y’all could see this team is much more than the quarterback. I thought results matter. 13-0 and this roster matches up across any team in those top 4 rankings. I am so sorry. Go Noles!

— Jordan Travis (@jordantrav13) December 3, 2023

“It felt like it was my fault,” Travis said Sunday. “That was probably the worst feeling I’ve had in a long time in my life. That sucked, for sure. I feel like I let a lot of people down.”

Travis was the classic college football success story. A player who was overlooked, worked through adversity, got better and was in the process of leading his historic program back to the mountaintop. That’s why the ending coming so suddenly short was so painful.

Asked whether he thinks Florida State would’ve won it all, Travis says, “1,000 percent.” He watched the CFP games. He doesn’t want to talk about them much. He’s ready for the future.

“At the end of the day, I couldn’t control that,” Travis said. “God has a plan for everything.”

That future is uncertain. Travis was told the injury is a five-to-six-month recovery. He hopes to get back on the field moving and throwing by mid-April, which is right before the NFL Draft. For a player whose draft stock was already questioned, it’s not ideal. He’s a bit undersized, and he’ll soon be 24. And now he’s injured. In late October, The Athletic’s Diante Lee thought Travis could be a Day 3 pick.