I see it weigh on him. And I see him fight through it and keep going. It’s impressive, his competitiveness. – Utah quarterbacks coach Aaron Roderick
SALT LAKE CITY – If there is one image that captures Travis Wilson’s career at Utah for Aaron Roderick it’s the 6-foot-7 quarterback’s face after he scraped it across the turf in Utah’s 2014 victory at Michigan.
“That picture is worth 1,000 words,” said Utah’s co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach of the image of the senior’s bloodied nose and lip after he was hit twice after running the ball, the first hit sending him flying through the air upside down, the second hit sending him across the turf, where his helmet flew off and his face dragged across the turf in the Big House.
The play made just about everyone cringe, but it was especially terrifying for those closest to him as he’d just been cleared in July to resume his collegiate football career a few months earlier after the discovery of an enlarged intracranial artery threatened to end his career for nearly six months.
“It encapsulates his whole time here,” Roderick said. “Mostly just the fact that he’ll fight and scratch no matter what, whether he’s playing well, whether he’s not playing well, whether the team around him is struggling or playing great, that doesn’t matter. Whether we’re up or behind, he’s a competitor and he’s really given the University all he had.”
Wilson has enjoyed record-breaking success at Utah. He’s also struggled through injuries, frightening medical issues and performance slumps.
He’s enjoyed MVP performances and shepherded the program from the frustrating irrelevance of a mid-major program to a co-championship in the South Division of the Pac-12.
The California native who will turn 22 on Tuesday has, at times, struggled to remain confident in himself, but he’s never quit fighting to regain his footing mentally or physically. Roderick said his perseverance is one of his most admirable attributes.
“I just think that being a quarterback at this level is a heavy burden,” Roderick said. “You carry the weight of the world on your shoulders. There are so many people counting on you. There’s times when it’s great and everybody’s cheering for you. But it’s a pretty heavy burden when we don’t win or when we don’t play well. People are hard on the quarterback. It’s not just here, that’s the nature of the beast playing quarterback in division one football.”
There is no doubt that Wilson has been a workhorse. Whatever naysayers have found to disparage in Wilson’s style or performance — his unorthodox sidearm throwing mechanics or his awkward gait when he runs — he’s never been accused of being a slacker.
No one’s ever asserted that he doesn’t care enough.
Wilson, reserved and understated to an almost maddening degree, rarely responds to critics. Even when he’s pummeled for events or situations that are not his responsibility, he is tirelessly diplomatic with media and fans.
That is not to say that the meanness of some moments doesn’t sting or isn’t hard to shake off.
“I see it weigh on him,” Roderick said. “And I see him fight through it and keep going. It’s impressive, his competitiveness.”
He’s remained stalwart, reliable and determined when others might not be.
“What he’s done is just endure,” said Roderick, who recruited Wilson out of high school. “It can beat you down when you’re a young player, and I think he got thrown in the fire a little bit earlier than he should have.”
Coaches hoped to redshirt Wilson in his first season at Utah. Instead, when starter Jordan Wynn suffered a fourth and career-ending shoulder injury, Wilson won the job as a true freshman.
“It would have been nice to have a chance to redshirt him,” Roderick said. “That didn’t happen. So he got thrown out there pretty early and kind of got thrown to the wolves.”
And despite what he’s given to the Ute program — on and off the field — he’s never really been embraced by a large section of fans. Instead, there have been moments of calm, of admiration, of almost relief in the relationship between Wilson and fans.
And just when it seems he’s won critics over, or at least silenced them, he, and the team, seem to struggle.
His uneasy relationship with fans could be just the usual ups and downs of each season’s unmet expectations. It could be that he doesn’t seem completely comfortable in the spotlight.
It could be that for much of 2013, it wasn’t even clear if coaches were confident in Wilson’s ability to lead the offense.
This year, however, was markedly different.
There was no doubt he had the unequivocal backing of both his teammates and coaches. While fans may have pined for other quarterbacks at various times, most realized when he was out with an injury briefly, the grass was greenest with Wilson at the helm.
There is also no doubt he has the smarts and skills to win football games. In fact, he took over as the program’s second winningest quarterback, surpassing Alex Smith, who had 21 wins, with a victory at Washington. He now has 23 victories with the possibility of a 24th against BYU in the Royal Purple Las Vegas Bowl on Saturday.
As he closed in on Smith’s record, senior wide receiver Kenneth Scott sent Wilson a text to let him know that he had confidence in him, and that he thought he was a great quarterback. Scott sees the career victory record as one of his most impressive accomplishments because Wilson earned those wins in the Pac-12 as Utah transitioned from Mountain West power to Power Five conference contender.
In his four years at Utah, he’s thrown for an impressive 7,302 yards and 54 touchdowns. On the flip side, he has also thrown 37 interceptions.
“He’s absolutely improved,” Roderick said. “I see a higher completion percentage. …I think he’s improved every year.”
In his senior year, he’s been the best and worst versions of himself illustrated maybe most poignantly in the 62-20 win over Oregon and the 42-24 loss to USC, in which he threw four interceptions.
Lately, Utah’s offense has stalled.
“We haven’t played great on offense the last few weeks, and he’s part of it,” Roderick said. “He’s got to play better, but we all have to play better. I have to coach better.”
And keep in mind that the one weakness Utah had as the season started was its receiving corps. Injuries have depleted the weapons Wilson has, including the surprise of the season, slot receiver Britain Covey.
Still, Roderick sees huge opportunities for Wilson and the Utes against their rival this Saturday.
As Wilson prepares to lead his teammates onto the field for the final time in his career, there is no doubt about what he’s willing to give for one final victory.
And for the coach who talked him into playing for Utah as a teen, whatever the scoreboard shows, he will remember a battled tested warrior when he reflects on Wilson’s time at Utah.
“His toughness, how he’s competed and battled through a lot of things,” Roderick said. “Tough kid.”
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