126 receptions. 140+ receiving yards per game. All in one season. And it’s by a tight end?
Ryan Travis has been putting up head-turning numbers his whole career at West Liberty, but those numbers are more than just great numbers for a Division II player. They are elite and need to be taken notice of, because an athlete at tight end/fullback like Ryan is a rare player and could find a niche in the NFL.
He talked about how he had a “challenge to take on” when he went to West Liberty, as only one player ever from the school had been drafted, and that player was an 11th round pick in 1975, ironically a tight end.
But he thanked his offense, talking about how he had the best quarterback in the country (at the D2 level) and an experienced running back that made his job much easier as a pass catcher and playmaker for this team.
Still, he hasn’t been getting regonized. I asked him if he was frustrated by his lack of attention, capped off by not getting an NFL Combine invite.
“Yeah, I am, I wish I could have a chance to show what I could do.”
Ryan did get a chance at the Cactus Bowl, which is the D2 prospect All-Star game, and felt that he “knew” he “stood out there”.
In college, he played as a fullback in his first two years and then more of a tight end and pass catcher as a junior and senior.
“My friends used to call me a Dallas Clark type player. I think I can fit that role.” That’d be a great niche for him to find in the NFL, as being a 6’2, 236 tight end/fullback prospect isn’t an easy way to make a consistent leaving at the highest rank of professional football.
“I’ve had trouble at the 40. I know I struggled at the Cactus Bowl, but I plan on running in the low 4.7s, high 4.6s at my Pro Day, which I think could answer those questions.”
At this stage of the game, Travis has the production and could fit skill-wise with many teams. But he’ll need to answer the athletic ability and speed questions before he’ll be strongly on NFL teams’ draft radars.
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