Ryan Travis (born January 18, 1989) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

fullback Fullback or Full back may refer to: Sports * A position in various kinds of football, including: ** Full-back (association football), in association football (soccer), a defender playing in a wide position ** Fullback (gridiron football), in Americ ...

who is currently a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at West Liberty University, where he was a consensus first-team Division II

All-America The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

n in both 2009 and 2010. He led Division II in receptions in his senior year, while also tying the Division II season record for

touchdowns A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether Rush (gridiron football), running, Forward pass, passing, returning a Kickoff (gridiron football), kickoff or Punt (gridiron football), punt, or recovering a Turno ...

by a

tight end The tight end (TE) is a position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football, on the offense. The tight end is often a hybrid position with the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a wide receiver. Like ...

. He finished his college career as the fifth leading all-time Division II receiver.

Undrafted In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in the

2011 NFL Draft The 2011 NFL Draft was the 76th installment of the annual NFL Draft, where the franchises of the National Football League select newly eligible football players. Like the 2010 draft, the 2011 draft was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York C ...

, Travis played with the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

in the 2011 preseason before being waived.

High school

Travis was a , sophomore at Tuslaw High School when he caught 41 passes. He grew to and , and switched positions to

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offen ...

where he finished with 1,321 yards and 27 touchdowns for the 9-2 Mustangs. He was named first team All-Ohio and was league player of the year. In 2011, the Tuslaw Local Board of Education was considering a proposal by Tuslaw High football coach Nate Held to retire Travis' number—44.

College career

Travis played H-back for West Liberty. He caught 104 passes for 1,250 yards and 14 touchdowns and was a consensus first-team NCAA Division II All-American a junior. In his senior year, Travis caught an NCAA-best 126 passes for 1,402 yards, and he led Division II with 140.2 receiving yards a game. His 15 touchdowns tied the Division II single-season mark for tight ends. He was the only college football player that season—all divisions—to catch at least 10 passes in every game. Travis' 126 catches and 12.6 catches per game rank second in NCAA Division II history. He was named consensus first-team NCAA Division II All-America for the second consecutive year. Travis ended his career with 285 receptions, the fifth-highest total in NCAA Division II history. "He was a mismatch for linebackers because he could run around them," said West Liberty head coach Roger Walalae. "And he was a mismatch for cornerbacks who came up because he just ran them over."

Professional career

Travis was

undrafted In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

in the

. He signed as a free agent with the

. Travis was listed as the second-string fullback behind Michael Robinson. He was waived on August 29, 2011.

References

External links

West Liberty bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Travis, Ryan American football fullbacks West Liberty Hilltoppers football players Living people 1989 births Kansas City Command players Seattle Seahawks players Players of American football from Massillon, Ohio