Clemson coach Dabo Swinney praised for classy gesture after Jordan Travis injury

In the days and hours after Florida State quarterback Jordan Travis suffered a season-ending leg injury Saturday night, he heard from lots of well-wishers.

One of the quickest to reach out? Clemson football coach Dabo Swinney.

That’s according to the The Nolecast, an FSU-focused podcast whose co-host, Ingram Smith, said Sunday night that Swinney was one of the first people outside Florida State to reach out to Travis in the wake of a scary leg injury.

Travis confirmed Monday he’d miss the rest of the season for No. 4 FSU, which has clinched a spot in the ACC championship game, after his left leg bent awkwardly at the end of a scramble in a home game Saturday against North Alabama. Travis was carted off in an air cast and transported to a local hospital after the injury.

Smith, who covers the Seminoles in a podcast capacity and is also the CEO of The Battle’s End, an FSU NIL collective, mentioned Swinney’s gesture while discussing Travis’ injury. FSU beat Clemson in overtime earlier this season.

“I do know that that’s an incredible family, they love each other dearly and they’re very close knit,” Smith said of the Travis family during a Sunday episode of The Nolecast. “And that Jordan’s got as good of a support staff between his teammates and his family that you could hope for.”

“Also, I’ll never be confused with a Dabo Swinney cheerleader, but I think Dabo Swinney was one of the first people to reach out to Jordan,” Smith said. “Jordan’s heard from a lot of different people. Dabo may not be my style of coach, but by all accounts he’s a pretty good human being. ... A class move.”

Co-host Bud Elliott, who covers college football nationally for 247Sports, added that it was “awesome that Dabo reached out to him.”

Swinney’s gesture of sportsmanship also drew praise from Clemson and Florida State fans on the platform X (formerly Twitter):

• “Wow. That’s really awesome of him.”

• “Say what you will about Dabo, but he is a good man!”

• “Doesn’t surprise me. Thanks for letting us know.”

FSU, which currently sits No. 5 in the AP Top 25 and No. 4 in the College Football Playoff rankings that’ll be updated Tuesday, defeated Clemson 31-24 in overtime earlier this season in Death Valley to drop the Tigers to 2-2.

In that Sept. 23 game, Travis threw the game-winning touchdown pass to wide receiver Keon Coleman and accounted for three total touchdowns as FSU snapped a seven-game losing streak against Clemson and took full control of the ACC.

Swinney said postgame Travis was “as good as there is in the country.” Clemson has rebounded since that loss and a 4-4 start, sitting at 7-4 entering its regular season finale at rival South Carolina.

Next Clemson game

Who: Clemson (7-4, 4-4 ACC) at South Carolina (5-6, 3-5 SEC)

When: 7:30 p.m. next Saturday

Where: Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia

TV: SEC Network

Line: Clemson by 7.5