Jordan Sterns rooting for brother above all
STILLWATER — When Jordan Sterns went to the YMCA to play pickup basketball, his little brother always tagged along. If Jordan was a captain, Caden, 5 ½ years his junior, was always his first pick.
“Just so he could get used to going against older dudes, build his confidence up,” Jordan said. “He’d do his best to keep up. He was always competitive.”
It’s proven worthwhile. Caden, a freshman safety on the Texas football team, is a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award for the nation’s top defensive back and tied for the Big 12 lead with four interceptions. That’s a mark matched by only 10 other players nationally, none of whom are in their first year of college like Caden. Again, youth is not holding him back. Caden will have the opportunity to show that Saturday at Boone Pickens Stadium against his brother’s alma mater. Jordan spent 2013-16 as an Oklahoma State safety, finishing his career with the most tackles by a Cowboy since 1990.
“This game has been circled on my schedule,” Caden said. “With it being their homecoming, it's going to be a good environment to play in. Just to go back, I consider Stillwater to be like a third home.”
Both brothers starred at Cibolo Steele in the San Antonio suburbs. Caden visited Stillwater often while Jordan played there, but his older brother never tried to persuade him to be a Cowboy.
“That’s not my story or my life,” Jordan said. “Obviously, he could’ve played there and the door was open for him if he wanted to, but shoot, my job as a big brother is just to support him in whatever he does.”
Like most brothers, they didn’t always see eye to eye. There were competitions in sports and video games. There were fights over who got to sit in what chair at home. Earlier this week, Jordan yelled “Go Pokes” in the background while their mom, Brandi Biddy, was on a FaceTime call with Caden.
But endures.
“He’s had a tremendous impact on my life,” Caden said. “He’s taught me a lot about the game and about the safety position. Just being another father figure, someone brotherhood who I can look up to at all times.”
Jordan is living in Austin, too, training and “waiting for a phone call” about a professional opportunity. He’ll be at Saturday’s matchup and try to remain balanced, with Caden suggesting Jordan will wear a “Sterns” jersey rather than a particular shade of orange.
“I just want him to do well,” Jordan said. “I want him to just go out there and have fun, play lights out like he’s been doing. If they win, they win. If they lose, they lose. I’m really not gonna be disappointed either way, but I’m definitely gonna be cheering on little bro.”
Although Caden didn’t follow his brother to Stillwater as he did to the YMCA, there seem to be no regrets.
“I think he couldn’t be happier,” Jordan said. “Him, my mom, my family, their faces are lighting up right now. My whole family’s happy. It’s bringing people together.”