Jared CohenIt was the first day of freshman football practice at Hamilton for the 2014 season and the coaching staff was having the players loosen up by stretching and running. When the running began, there was one player that was well ahead of every one else each and every time and it was someone they did not recognize.
That was because it was a new student in Chandler by the name of Jawhar Jordan who had moved into town from New York. Because he was new, he thought about not coming out for the team but decided to show up for the first day of camp.
It ultimately was a wise decision for the young man who went on to blow away the competition playing running back at the freshman level scoring 33 touchdowns, six of which came in one game during his freshman season. His coaches were blown away by his speed, his vision and ability to cut.
“They taught me that they could believe in me,” said Jordan about his biggest learning experience from his breakout season. “All my teammates knew I could do it, I thought so too and I learned a lot from them.”
Hamilton’s success over the years has been unprecedented as it seems every year, they are in the state championship game. That success has stemmed from some of the best talent to come out of the state since Terrell Suggs wore Hamilton black and silver and went on to Arizona State and the NFL. With that said, you know it will take a lot for a freshman to knock the socks off of the coaches and upperclassman in the program. But that in fact is what Jordan has done.
“It’s been an honor that they’ve got to know me more during freshman season,” Jordan explained. “Now that they know me, now I am here in spring ball competing with the varsity and I’ve really hard to work hard and stay forced to get to where I am now.”
Working out now with players who are two and three years older than him, Jordan knows it will not be easy. Especially at a program like Hamilton. But he is out there working and soaking it all in from the varsity players and coaches this spring.
“Coaches just tell me to keep working hard and they know that I can do it,” mentioned Jordan. “So I’m just staying dedicated.”
The running back position has some very good depth returning in 2015 led by soon-to-be senior Rico Tipton who had a very good junior season for the Huskies. Tipton is a player that Jordan has latched onto to learn from.
“He has taught me a lot,” stated Jordan. “Like basic rules of running backs and how to be a good teammate and to keep my grades up so I can have scouts looking at me.”
Success during the freshman season was not just seen on the football field for Jordan. It was also on the track. It is not very often you see at the division I level, a freshman in the final heat of the boy’s 100 meter dash for the state championship. But there Jordan was on that Saturday afternoon running with the fastest guys in the state. He ultimately provided two points for the Hamilton track team finishing seventh in the race running 11.02.
“I loved it,” said Jordan. “it was like the greatest feeling of my life. Just competing with the older kids and knowing what it feels like to compete in state. So now I know I can do it in the future.”
Jordan would be the first to tell you that he still has a ways to go in terms of adding size and strength to compete with the best of the best at his age, but his raw speed and ability is proving that his ceiling could be one of the best athletes on the track and football field that the state has seen.
