Travaris Cadet has a well-practiced understanding of patience.
He was a highly rated quarterback at Miami Central High School, he signed with Toledo, he was redshirted and had to sit out the 2007 season.
When Toledo's offensive coordinator, John Shannon, left for a job at Marshall, Cadet moved as well -- to Pearl River Community College in Mississippi. He wound up biding his time again, recovering from a sore ankle and playing in just two games.
He arrived healthy at Appalachian State this season, and few who have watched him play would doubt that his time is coming.
Cadet gave a timely preview in the season-opening game against East Carolina, taking over in the third quarter and filling a void left by star Armanti Edwards, who was sidelined with a foot injury from a now infamous lawn-mowing accident. Cadet, a skilled runner, pumped life into a sluggish offense and led a comeback from a 24-point deficit that fell short.Then Edwards returned and Cadet was relegated to waiting again.
Cadet, finally getting a chance for more work at quarterback after a string of close games that precluded any second-half substitutions, provided a reminder of his running ability last Saturday. He rushed for 131 yards and a touchdown on 11 carries in mop-up duty of a blowout win over Georgia Southern.
Edwards was glad for some time off. And Cadet was glad to play.
Through it all, he hasn't complained.
"Life is about patience," Cadet said. "And I've got a great quarterback in front of me. It's not like I have somebody that's not good in front of me. It's Armanti. He's a two-time All-American, a two-time national champion.
"I'm not frustrated. A lot of people might think I'm frustrated playing behind him, but I'm not. I'm patient. I'm not rushing."
Coach Jerry Moore said he is impressed with Cadet's attitude, especially given the sparkling debut against East Carolina.
"He could have been a tough nut to deal with every day," Moore said. "It could have been, ‘Why don't I get an opportunity to play?' But he's not been that way. Travaris is our backup quarterback, and he knows his role. He never pouts. He's one of the most unusual players I've ever been around. I'm not stretching it at all….
"Everybody knows he's a talent. My job as the boss is to throw every dog a bone. I walked up to him one day and said something to him along those lines and he said, ‘Coach, I know about our team. I want you to know I love it here, and I love this football team. That's my No. 1 thing.'"
Cadet has been able to return punts, and he occasionally has lined up as a receiver, with plays in place for him to run the ball. Moore said that he and his staff continue to explore ways to get Cadet involved.
"We've done that every week," Moore said. "I could show you a page of plays where we wanted to get the ball to No. 7.
"About three or four weeks ago (against Samford), we had too much stuff on him. We had a lot of plays for him but we didn't run any of them. The game didn't allow us to. We cut it back, but we still have four or five plays for him."
In the meantime, Cadet said he's learning.
"I know I've got a lot of room to get way better than what I am, as far as throwing the ball and running the ball and reading defenses," said Cadet, who will have two seasons of eligibility after this year.
He said he's becoming more comfortable returning punts, something he hadn't done before this season.
"I'm looking forward to the day when I can bust (a long return)," Cadet said. "It's coming. It's going to come at the right time, too."
tbowman@wsjournal.com.
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