Sun Sentinel Palm Beach Edition
Many dimensions
Along with his receiving, Jordan can also block
CORAL GABLES — The nation’s leading receiver among tight ends is Miami Hurricanes sophomore Brevin Jordan.
But as elite of a pass catcher as the 6-foot-3, 245-pound Las Vegas Bishop Gorman alum is, a different aspect of his game has caught the eye of new UM offensive coordinator Dan Enos: his blocking.
“He’s a really good pass receiver, route runner, but he’s an excellent blocker,” Enos said. “He’s one of those rare guys. His technique needs to continue to improve as a blocker, as an in-line, C-gap blocker, but for a guy that’s not very big in stature as far as his height, he’s got a very strong lower body.”
Jordan puts as much emphasis on blocking as catching, where his 161 receiving yards are 53rd nationally through two games — but with only receivers ahead of him on the list.
“I mean, I pride myself in blocking,” said Jordan, who was the first UM player to wear the new Touchdown Rings this season. “I don’t want to be a tight end that’s 6-7 and can just block or a short tight end who just runs routes. I wanted to be a guy that’s versatile and can do it all. That’s the whole point. I want to be an inline tight end that can block and be a guy that can be put outside and run vertical.”
He compared the feeling he gets from making a great block to making a great catch.
“Truthfully, I like the ball in my hands. I’d rather make a great catch,” Jordan said, “but giving a great block, throwing somebody on the floor and then seeing [running backs Cam’Ron Harris] or DeeJay [Dallas] run past me, I mean, that’s just as good. It doesn’t get better than that.”
The backs appreciate that Jordan can open up a hole off tackle or get to the second level and spring one of them downfield.
“I mean, Brevin, he’s been blocking for us tailbacks,” Harris said. “He brings the intensity on the field. Like, you can see he’s dominating every play.”
Jordan played nearly all of UM’s 76 offensive snaps against North Carolina.
“I wasn’t tired at all,” said Jordan. “That’s a credit to [head athletic trainer Vinny Scavo] and our training staff. They made sure we were drinking a lot of Pedialyte, getting real hydrated, so throughout the game I wasn’t tired at all.”
Enos doesn’t take for granted how much responsibility Jordan juggles while playing so many snaps.
“We ask Brevin to do a lot. He’s got to learn a lot of things,” Enos said. “He’s got to learn all the run schemes, all the protection schemes, all the routes. We move him around in formations all over the place. From a mental standpoint, the tight ends have one of the biggest challenges of the entire group. Brevin really kind of embraced that. All of them have.”
Enos is confident Jordan will only continue to improve.
“We really think we haven’t scratched the surface with Brevin,” Enos said. “One thing I love about Brevin is he loves to play the game. He goes out there, he’s enthusiastic, he’s competitive. He wants the ball. He wants to be challenged, and we coach him very hard.”