Grizzly Football Profile: Meet junior running back Travon Van
4/16/2013 12:00:00 AM | Football
April 16, 2013
Throughout the spring UM's official web site, gogriz.com, will continue to introduce Griz Nation to a University of Montana football player who either redshirted here last season, or transferred to UM and is currently participating in spring drills.
Thanks to a "San Diego Connection," Travon Van joined the Griz football program, and he could be one of the premier running backs at the FCS level.
Van, a junior eligibility-wise, has turned heads this spring with his outstanding ability and has shown why he as a much-heralded prospect three seasons ago coming out of high school. At 5-11, 195, he has both speed and power, and was clocked at 10.3 in the 100 meters in high school.
The native of San Diego, Calif., transferred from Marshall University, where he had a solid two-year career, but he was moved from running back to cornerback, and he wanted to stay on offense, hence the transfer to Montana.
He rushed for 551 yards on 143 carries for three touchdowns in 2011 as a redshirt freshman for the Thundering Herd and was named to the Conference USA All-Freshman Team. He started the first three games in 2012, but was moved to cornerback in the fourth game of the season at Rice.
He was a prolific prep player at Helix High School in San Diego, Calif., where he rushed for 1,237 yards as a senior before attending Milford (N.Y.) Academy. He went to the same high school as Reggie Bush.
Van signed a letter of intent to play at the University of Florida before enrolling at Marshall. He was rated a four-star recruit by ESPNU, and also had offers from West Virginia, USC, Miami (Fla.), Tennessee, Florida State, Penn State, and numerous others."
"I think for a player the caliber of `Tra' that the sky is the limit," said former Griz star halfback Justin Green, a San Diego native who now coaches Montana's running backs at his alma mater. "He's definitely getting better every day that he practices. He's learning more. He has natural gifts that other guys just don't have. He will play a key role for us this season and we are very excited about that, as well as his huge potential.
"For whatever reason, he's here and we're excited about having him here in the Griz football program," Green said. "Even though he came out of high school as a four star recruit he's hungry and he's motivated to play, and he will have some competition here. And that's great, as far as him coming in here and not automatically getting the job. He's got to work for everything he gets here.
"Jordan Canada has looked very good this spring, along with a couple of other guys, and I think we have two other players (prep signees) coming in that will compete too," Green said. "I am excited about the guys we have and everybody's going to have a role and a turn, and an opportunity."
(Green, a 6-0, 225-pound halfback, transferred to Montana from San Diego State and rushed for 1,784 yards in 2003 and 2004, which rank him ninth in school history in his two-year career at UM).
YOU CAME TO UM FROM MARSHALL. TELL US ABOUT YOUR EXPERIENCE PLAYING THERE: "I just really wanted to play running back. Being at Marshall was a really good experience playing running back there, but the coaches had a change of heart and they wanted to try to move me to corner. We sat down and I talked to Doc (head coach Doc Holliday), and he said that he'd help me get to a school where I can play running back. I had a really good relationship with that man."
SO DID YOU PLAY CORNERBACK IN HIGH SCHOOL: "In high school I played a little bit of everything. I played corner, receiver, and running back. So I was recruited to college as an `athlete'."
YOUR BROTHER, JASON VAN & GRIZ COACH Justin Green WERE TWO OF THE TOP PREP RUNNING BACKS AT THE SAME TIME. TELL US ABOUT THAT CONNECTION. "They were rivals, rushing rivals in high school. They competed for the rushing title back then (Jason was a star at Helix HS while Justin was a standout at University of San Diego High School, and both ended up at San Diego State for a while). So while I was growing I remember my brother (Jason is eight years older than Travon, who is the youngest of four boys) talking about Justin Green. (Jason is now a coach and teacher at Saint Augustine High School in San Diego).
"When I was trying to leave (Marshall) Jason told me that Justin Green coached at Montana and that I should give him a call, and then we talked and we just clicked from there."
"Being able to play with Jason Van, who is Travon's brother (at San Diego State) was a great experience for me," said Green, who also serves as UM's recruiting coordinator. "That was back when running backs weighed 210 pounds or more, so things are a little different in that area in college football now-a-days."
WHAT'S YOUR EXPERIENCE HERE AT MONTANA BEEN LIKE SO FAR: "The only thing that's really different is getting used to the weather. Me being from San Diego, it can get pretty cold up here and everything. That's really the only big adjustment.
"It feels good to be here. My confidence is good. With (junior running back) Jordan Canada back there, along with a couple of other guys, not to mention our offensive line. You can't help but to be confident with those guys leading the way. Our receivers are really good blockers too, plus you've got Jordan (Johnson) back at quarterback, so we're pretty confident on offense."
DO YOU HAVE HOPES TO PLAY AT THE NEXT LEVEL AFTER YOU LEAVE HERE? "Definitely, but right now I am focusing on team goals and what we are trying to do out there. I want to be part of a conference championship and a national championship, and if the other stuff (pro football) comes then I will take that as well."
DID YOU PLAY OTHER SPORTS IN HIGH SCHOOL? "I ran track and I played baseball. In track as a junior I ran a 10.3 in the 100 meters, and I didn't run my senior year because I was more focused on football. In baseball I played the outfield, and kind of wish that I would have kept going on the baseball field a little bit, but my mom and dad wanted me to concentrate on football, so I kind of left that baseball behind."
A Personal Look at Travon
Favorite Food: Pizza.
Favorite class: Sports History.
Favorite TV show: Martin.
Favorite musical group: "MMG"
Favorite movie: Scarface.
The person in history I would most like to meet is: Michael Jackson.
Favorite sport other than football: Baseball.
Favorite sports figure: Kobe Bryant.
Favorite NFL team: 49ers.
Hobbies/Special Interests: Dirt bikes, Tattoos. (He said he and his brothers grew up riding dirt bikes and "it was a family thing." He has several tattoos and said that he has given some of his friends tattoos).
My greatest moment in sports so far is: Winning a bowl game. (Marshall defeated Florida International 20-10 in the Beef O'Brady's Bowl in 2011).
If I were not participating in college football, I would be: Try to be a doctor.
The thing(s) I like best about The University of Montana is: Nice people. My team.
Misc.: Travon's major is sociology and he hopes to eventually coach college or high school football. His other two brothers are Charles (who played football at the University of San Diego) who lives in Mississippi and is in the car business, and Markus, who is in the Navy.
