Travon Homer Van (born May 6, 1991) is a

Canadian football Canadian football () is a team sport, sport played in Canada in which two teams of 12 players each compete for territorial control of a field of play long and wide attempting to advance a pointed oval-shaped ball into the opposing team's sco ...

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 ...

for the

San Diego Strike Force The San Diego Strike Force is a professional indoor football team based in San Diego, California. It is a member of the Indoor Football League and began play in 2019 at Pechanga Arena in the city's Midway district. It is the second professional ...

of the

Indoor Football League The Indoor Football League (IFL) is a professional indoor American football league created in 2008 out of the merger between the Intense Football League and United Indoor Football. It has one of the largest number of currently active teams amon ...

(IFL). 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 ...

Montana Montana () is a state in the Mountain West division of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota and South Dakota to the east, Wyoming to the south, and the Canadian provinces of Alberta, British Columbi ...

. Van made his professional debut for the

Ottawa Redblacks The Ottawa Redblacks (officially stylized as REDBLACKS) ( French: Le Rouge et Noir d'Ottawa) are a professional Canadian football team based in Ottawa, Ontario. The team plays in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). Startin ...

, where he won a

Grey Cup The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

in 2016. He has also been a member of the

Edmonton Eskimos The Edmonton Elks are a professional Canadian football team based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club competes in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member of the league's West Division and plays their home games at the Brick Field at Commo ...

and

BC Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

Professional career

Ottawa Redblacks

After going undrafted in the

2015 NFL Draft The 2015 NFL Draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park, from April 30 to May 2. The previous ...

Van signed with the

(CFL) on August 10, 2015 to replace

Chevon Walker Chevon Walker (born May 9, 1987) is a former professional Canadian football running back and kick returner. He played NCAA football for the Sioux Falls Cougars. He played two years of his career as a professional football player in the Canadian F ...

. Van did not see any playing time in

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, but in

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

he came into prominence in the Redblacks offense after starting running back

William Powell William Horatio Powell (July 29, 1892 – March 5, 1984) was an American actor. A major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, he was paired with Myrna Loy in 14 films, including the ''The Thin Man (film), Thin Man'' series based on the Nick and Nora Cha ...

tore his

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcaneus (h ...

in preseason. The Redblack employed a running back by committee approach in 2016, which included

Mossis Madu Mossis Madu Jr (born November 4, 1987) is a former gridiron football running back. He most recently played for the Ottawa Redblacks of the Canadian Football League (CFL). He was signed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent in 2011 ...

(106 touches), Travon Van (100), Nic Grigsby (73), and Kienan LaFrance (49). Van carried the ball 81 times in 2017, for 422 yards with three touchdowns. He also caught 19 passes for 137 yards. Following the season he was not re-signed by the Redblacks and became a free agent.

Edmonton Eskimos

On February 16, 2017, Van signed with the

. Van was slated to become the team's backup running back to John White. Two weeks into the 2017 season, White suffered a season-ending injury, meaning Van was the new starter for the Eskimos. Van would play his former team, the Redblacks, on July 14. He would record his first 100+ yard rushing game, finishing the game with 18 carries for 103 yards. However, two weeks later Van would suffer a neck injury during a game against the BC Lions. He would be placed on the six-game injured list. He returned on September 16 against the

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team competing in the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), based in Toronto, Ontario ...

. Van would go on to record 18 carries for 76 yards and a touchdown before suffering a season-ending injury on September 30 versus the

Winnipeg Blue Bombers The Winnipeg Blue Bombers are a professional Canadian football team based in Winnipeg, Manitoba. The Blue Bombers compete in the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a member club of the league's West division. They play their home games at IG Fiel ...

. He appeared in six games in 2017, rushing for 283 yards and three touchdowns. On February 16, 2018, the Eskimos re-signed Van to a one-year contract. Nevertheless, Van was released by the Eskimos on May 1, 2018, as the team trimmed their roster down to 75 players in preparation for the 2018 season.

BC Lions

On May 10, 2018, Van signed with the

. Van was released by the Lions on October 9, 2018, shortly following the acquisition of

Tyrell Sutton Tyrell DelShawn Sutton, (born December 19, 1986) is an American former professional gridiron football running back. He was signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football at Northwestern. Sutton was ...

. Van played in thee games for the Lions in the 2018 season, rushing 10 times for 43 yards with one touchdown. He also caught four passes for 41 yards.

Toronto Argonauts

One week after being released by the Lions Van signed with the

on October 16, 2018.

San Diego Strike Force

On March 24, 2022, Van signed with the

of the

(IFL).

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Van, Travon 1991 births Living people American football running backs Canadian football running backs American players of Canadian football Ottawa Redblacks players Edmonton Elks players BC Lions players Players of American football from San Diego Players of Canadian football from San Diego Montana Grizzlies football players Marshall Thundering Herd football players