Chiefs camp: Meet Ross Travis and notes
By Chris Clark
One of the things that I enjoy the most about training camp is the ability to watch players after practice is over. Last season I watched several players stay after practice and continue working in drills. Steven Nelson is one that stood out to me for each practice session I attended. Nelson was always there after practice working on his footwork and this year he is currently lined up as the starting corner opposite Peters.
Travis has that type of work ethic. Saturday’s practice was just in shells so they weren’t taking big hits and being tackled to the ground. After practice for at least 20 minutes while the rest of the players signed autographs for fans, Travis caught the ball from a Jugs machine. He started just catching them, and then after about five or six minutes a Chiefs assistant stepped in and would act like he was covering him from different angles. Each different angle the same thing was happening, Travis was catching the ball cleanly.
On Sunday practice was live and in full pads and add in a dose of heavy rain for about 10 minutes and it was a rough practice. There was a specific play that Travis was coming across the middle and was lit up right as the ball arrived. The ball ended up intercepted but it was a pass that probably shouldn’t have been made as the QB gave Travis no chance and he led him into the hit. After running through the entire practice and special teams drills Ross stopped to sign autographs for fans for a little less than 10 minutes before he headed back to the Jugs machine alone.
I watched him catch the ball over and over and they moved the placement after each 10 passes or so. As I was getting ready to leave Travis started working on catching the ball one handed with his right hand and above his head. He had to have spent at least another 20 minutes after signing autographs on the Jugs machine. If he is able to add weight and can learn to be a decent blocker the Chiefs have found another athletic TE that can cause trouble for defenses and his name is Ross Travis.
Next: Camp notes...