Travis Dye has handled adversity throughout his life and soccer profession.
Getting by way of these difficulties is probably going why the working again has been profitable all through highschool and school and now has ended up on an NFL roster.
On Friday, the Jets signed Dye as an undrafted free agent as he took half within the staff’s rookie minicamp hoping to land a spot on the primary roster.
“I’m very blessed to have this opportunity,” Dye informed the Daily News. “I need to take advantage of out of it.
“This is a superb place, I like this place, I like these amenities, I like the coaches. I simply need to run with it.
“Coach [Robert] Saleh is a great dude, great coach. Coach [Taylor] Embree, he’s a great dude as well, I’ve known him for a very long time. The coaches have been great and I love it here.”
As the youngest of 5 youngsters, Dye needed to combat for the whole lot he obtained, on and off the soccer subject. Dye comes from a soccer household as his brothers, Tony and Troy, each performed within the NFL as Troy is at present a linebacker on the Vikings roster.
Despite his measurement at 5-10, 200 kilos, Dye has made an influence regardless of the place he’s been since his highschool days at Norco in California. There, he was the 2017 All-CIF Division 2 and Big VIII League Offensive Player of the Year as a senior as Dye rushed for two,383 yards on 255 carries (9.3 avg) with 34 touchdowns.
Dye dedicated to Oregon as a three-star recruit, as he was rated the bottom working again within the Ducks’ 2017 class. However, that didn’t preserve Dye off the sector, as he rushed for 739 yards and 4 touchdowns as a freshman as he break up time in Oregon’s backfield with CJ Verdell. After sharing time with Verdell additionally throughout his sophomore and junior seasons, Dye lastly acquired his alternative to be the lead working again within the Ducks offense following Verdell’s season-ending leg damage.
In 2021, Dye was among the finest working backs within the Pac-12. He registered 1,271 yards and 16 touchdowns whereas averaging six yards per carry as Dye earned AP All-Pac-12 second-team honors. Dye additionally led Oregon in receptions for 402 yards and two receiving touchdowns as he helped Oregon to a 10-4 document and look within the Pac-12 Championship earlier than dropping to Utah.
He had a possibility to enter the 2022 NFL Draft, however with an additional yr of eligibility, Dye determined to go away Oregon and return nearer to dwelling at USC after graduating following coach Mario Cristobal’s departure to the Miami Hurricanes.
“It was really tough,” Dye mentioned. “When I used to be there at Oregon for 4 years, I thought of that my dwelling.
“It was very laborious for me to go away my dwelling and return to my dwelling. It was very robust telling my teammates and the brand new teaching employees [Dan Lanning] that got here in, it wasn’t a simple factor.
“The decision was easy, but the execution was hard.”
Dye joined a USC staff anticipated to compete for a nationwide championship, however they fell a bit in need of its aim. The Trojans completed 11-3 and appeared within the Pac-12 Championship as they misplaced to Utah.
On his solution to incomes extra Pac-12 honors in 2022, an ankle damage final November prematurely ended Dye’s school profession as he ran for 884 speeding yards and 9 touchdowns on 145 carries whereas additionally bringing in 21 catches for 202 yards in 10 video games.
After rehabbing his ankle damage, Dye returned to the sector throughout USC’s Pro Day in March as he recorded 16 reps on the 225-pound bench press and ran a 4.75 on the 40-yard sprint, which was slower than he would have appreciated.
“The rehab was good,” Dye mentioned. “I had lots of people behind me in my nook.
“It was a crappy factor the way it ended, I wouldn’t want that on anyone. But it’s what it’s, it’s the sport of soccer. It is a love, hate relationship with it.
“But it has been good, rehab has been good.”
After going undrafted within the 2023 NFL Draft, Dye can have a possibility to be the following Jets participant to crack the staff’s 53-man roster. During rookie minicamp final weekend, Dye and different gamers participated in 7-on-7 and positional drills. Dye typically demonstrated his versatility out of the backfield, catching a number of passes from the quarterbacks.
“Just another opportunity to come in and compete,” Saleh mentioned about Dye and the opposite undrafted free brokers the Jets signed. “The greatest type of motivation is competitors. We’ve added three actually good draft lessons since I’ve gotten right here.
“Joe [Douglas] has had four of them. Some really good free agents, a lot of additions, so there’s a lot of competition all the way across the board. So, to add athletes, to add good players to really good groups, to add competition, it makes everything better from special teams all the way down.”
The Jets backfield is crowded, however one type of motivation for Dye is a participant from that group made the 53-man roster popping out of coaching camp final yr. Zonovan “Bam” Knight initially made the Jets remaining roster earlier than the beginning of the common season. While he did bounce backwards and forwards between the energetic 53-man roster and the observe squad all year long, Knight lastly caught on the Jets roster as he was the staff’s greatest working again late within the season.
Following Breece Hall’s ACL tear, Knight began 4 video games for the Jets, working for 300 yards and a landing. That included a 90-yard efficiency in a 27-22 loss to the Vikings final December.
Dye’s most vital position may come on particular groups, the place he had expertise at Oregon as he averaged 21.2 yards per kick return for the Ducks.
“It definitely makes me look forward to something,” Dye mentioned. “I know Bam is a great running back. Just going onto his coattails and learning what he has done and his past and applying that to my game, it is going to be really important.”
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Source: www.bostonherald.com