The final senior we’ll say goodbye to is #99 Jerrell Jordan.
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The defensive end came to Cincinnati by way of Copiah-Lincoln Community College. He signed with the Bearcats with fellow Wolfpack Terrell Hartsfield.
Jordan didn’t make as huge an impact with UC during his first season at Cincinnati than Hartsfield. He played in 12 games as a junior mostly on a rotational basis behind Silverberry Mouhon. Unfortunately for Jordan, Mouhon was such an absolute juggernaut off the edge that season (piling up 9.5 sacks), the JUCO transfer didn’t see the field much except during garbage time. As a result he tallied just 8 tackles and a half-tackle for loss in 2013.
By his senior year Jordan’s role expanded slightly. Mouhon took a step back performance-wise and defensive line coach Robert Prunty gave #99 more reps in an attempt to get more production out of the position. Jordan certainly pulled his weight, upping his tackles to 24 that season. It wasn’t a huge increase but enough to keep the attention of offensive lines so Terrell Hartsfield could wreak havoc on the opposite side.
At the end of the day, Jerrell Jordan didn’t put up video game like numbers at defensive end but he was a critical cog in UC’s rotation. Other teams took notice, like the Cincinnati Bengals, who offered him a contract as an undrafted free agent this past May.