FROM #71 TO #42

In this BONUS CLIP from BACKSTORY 2 — SOPHOMORE YEAR, Ellison Jordan reflects on the transition from #71 to #42 and the confidence shift that came with sophomore year football.

From changing positions and taking on more responsibility to feeling like he entered his “prime” as a player, this clip captures the early stages of transformation, identity, and growth.

Transcript

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Before my freshman year, I was a nose guard. So basically, I was a head up on the center. I was a warden number 71. I was a little smaller back then. Wasn't as strong. I was still strong, but I wasn't as strong as I was my sophomore year. Wasn't doing a lot of other things or trying other things out. So I was strictly a nose guard. I was kind of like one-dimensional. That all changed my sophomore year. When I got into my sophomore year, I had my number changed because I was playing fullback. So, you know, your boy played a little fullback. I was like a pretty hard-nosed fullback. I was used to block a lot, never ran the ball for real for real. Well, later down the line I did, but that comes later. I did a lot of blocking, never really, never caught the ball, but just really was there as an H-back, basically. So I'll play like off the line of scrimmage. I'll be in the backfield in the I formation, et cetera. You know, they wanted to use me more my sophomore year. You know, they saw what I could do my freshman year, they saw I could move, I was strong, etc. You know, they saw what things I could you know accomplish. So going to my sophomore year, I was I had more responsibility now. I was still on the younger side, I was 16 years old going to my sophomore year, still had no offers, was still trying to make a name for myself. Well, I already made a name for myself, but I was trying to make an even more bigger name for myself to the other colleges and stuff. So sophomore year was my favorite just because of the responsibility I had on the field, things I did on the field, and just I felt like that was prime Ellison Jordan as a high school football player. That was just a great time, you know, being there and playing and stuff like that. And I was able to show my talents for sure. So going to my sophomore year, well, I'm gonna keep saying going to my sophomore year. In my sophomore year, a lot of expectations were on us because we lost a lot of seniors. So it was really just a new group of guys who came in as freshmen, and then the older guys who were juniors, now seniors, and then the guys who were sophomores who are now juniors, and now my class who were freshmen last year and now being sophomores. So everybody was just trying to, you know, everybody was just trying to fill in that gap in terms of what they had to do for the responsibility on the team. For me, I wasn't like one of the leaders. I want to say I was I led by example mainly. I was never like a vocal leader, but I was somebody who led by action. So I I wasn't like the head captain or nothing like that, but I was, you know, I was one of the returners for sure. I was one of the more experienced guys because I played freshman. I played as a, you know, I started as a freshman of varsity last year. I knew what things I had to do, and you know, I knew what was going to lead up to that going to my sophomore year. So sophomore year comes around, we play good counsel. So we played good counsel all four years, by the way. So this was like a head up straight rivalry we had with them during that tenure. And