"My heart sunk to the floor": Ex-Cincinnati star Travis Kelce once shared how Marijuana almost got him kicked out of college team
Three-time Super Bowl-winning end Travis Kelce could have never mounted anything in football after his reckless behavior during his time in Cincinnati, where he was on scholarship.
Travis, a two-star recruit out of Cleveland Heights High School, once used to play quarterback for Cincinnati in his first year in 2008. However, he once went out to party, drinking and smoking, and a drug test announcement from the NCAA swept the rug under him. He was suspended for the 2010 season after testing positive.
The Kelce brothers recalled the journey with "Outside the Lines," as NFL on ESPN released the segment on Feb. 11, 2023.
"I was down there partying, drinking, smoking, trying to enjoy life, and doing things I wasn't supposed to be doing. Then the NCAA came with a drug test, and my heart literally sunk to the floor," Travis said (0:40 onwards).
Upon learning Travis Kelce's drug test results, coach Butch Jones called him into his office.
"Son, you're off the team. I'm taking your scholarship. You'll never play a down of football here at the University of Cincinnati again. That kind of stuff is inexcusable, and I will not tolerate it on my football team," Kelce quoted Jones' reaction.
Jason Kelce revives his brother Travis Kelce's career: "He was Superman"
This was the time when Travis Kelce knew he had to get his act together and the guy he looked up to for help was his brother Jason, a former Super Bowl champion.
"I kind of asked him to move in with me so I could keep a closer eye on him, hoping he would take things a little more seriously," Jason said.
After that, Jason lobbied for his brother with Butch Jones and asked him to give him one more chance.
"My brother came in uh like he was Superman. I don't know what the heck he told him," Travis said.
"I remember telling him, you know, Trav is a good kid; he just made a stupid mistake. Not only is he a great player, but he's a great person. Everybody loves him—he's a great teammate," Jason said about his conversation with the coach.
Following Jason's request, Jones thought about it for a while before asking Travis Kelce to meet him in his office.
"He told me I had to maintain a 3.0 GPA, I couldn't miss a single class—which, at that time in my life, was unheard of—and I had to find a way to pay for school," Travis said.
Jason Kelce added that it was best of him to earn as well to get a sense of responsibility, especially after coming through an adverse situation like that.
Travis Kelce 2.0 did exactly what he was asked of. He made the Dean's list of the class, after which Butch Jones welcomed him back on the team but this time in a different position.
"He said, 'I don't need a quarterback, but I think you'd be a heck of a tight end. Everyone sees your athletic ability, and we think you'd be an awesome tight end for us. If you want to try and earn a scholarship at tight end,' and at that point, I was like, 'Yeah, I couldn't care less what position I play,'" Travis added.
After performing considerably well at the new position, Travis Kelce would go on to get selected in the third round of the 2013 NFL Draft by the Kansas City Chiefs. And the rest is history.