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Newcomer Profile: Freshman WR Jacob Jordan 'Excited to Get to Play' at Oklahoma
One of three early enrollees at the wide receiver position, freshman Jacob Jordan has already started to learn from some of the best players in his position group.
Coming out of high school, former Southlake Carroll (TX) wide receiver Jacob Jordan held multiple scholarship offers from Division I programs.
Yet, the talented pass catcher elected to walk on at Oklahoma, choosing to play for Emmett Jones and company over schools like Texas Tech, North Texas, Tulsa and others.
“I’ve known Coach Jones for a long time, since back when he was at Texas Tech," Jordan said in March. "I came to camp there, got the offer, we kind of stayed in touch until here. I came to camp here, got the offer. I just love that he’s a very intense guy, very intense coach, very inspirational and I’m excited to get to learn from him this season and going forward.”
In June of 2023, Jordan attended the Brent Venables Elite Camp, where he showed off his speed, quickness and impressive route running skills.
After his standout performance in Norman, Jones and company pulled Jordan to the side and offered him a preferred walk-on spot with the Sooners, which lead to a commitment in late June.
Jordan will follow in the footsteps of other preferred walk-on slot wide receivers like Drake Stoops and Gavin Freeman, who were able to carve out solid roles at OU both on offense and on special teams.
Stoops and Freeman eventually earned scholarships, and Freeman even managed to score a touchdown in his college football debut. In just his second year with the program, Freeman played 142 offensive snaps in a crowded wide receiver room, also earning 75 snaps on special teams as Oklahoma's primary punt returner in 2023.
Stoops ended his career as OU's leading receiver in 2023, racking up 962 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns on 84 catches. The former walk-on played more than 250 snaps on offense in each of his final four seasons with the Sooners.
Like Freeman, Jordan has also been working as a punt returner in his first spring with the program, and said that he has learned a lot from the aforementioned receivers.
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“I’ve been learning from a bunch of the guys," Freeman said. "Jalil (Farooq) and Gavin Freeman and Drake Stoops a little bit, since he’s around the facilities still. It’s just been great, I’m trying to get bits and pieces from all of them, trying to soak up all the information I can from those guys.”
In addition to forming relationships with some of the older players in his position group, Jordan has also begun to build a bond with the other freshman receivers who arrived on campus in January.
"Jacob Jordan, I’ve been building (a relationship) with him," fellow early enrollee Ivan Carreon said. "We’ve been playing golf together, just in the players lounge. Just hanging around, talking whenever I see him.”
As a junior at Southlake Carroll, Jordan caught 64 passes for over 1,200 yards yards and 16 touchdowns, helping lead the Dragons to a 13-1 record before falling to Jackson Arnold, Peyton Bowen and a loaded Denton Guyer squad in the state quarterfinals.
A 3-star prospect, Jordan is able to get open against defensive backs with his impressive footwork and quickness, easily creating space at the high school level. On both shallow and deeper routes, Jordan's speed and route-running abilities are noticeable, which the 5-foot-9 freshman says is one of the strong points of his game.
“I think I provide, very versatile, not only just on offense but on special teams too," Jordan said. "Great route runner, create separation at the top of the route and very reliable. I think my hands are a really big part of my game.”
While Jordan has a long way to go before he earns the same amount of playing time fellow walk-ons Freeman and Stoops did in their careers, he seems confident that he made the right decision coming to Oklahoma.
With his first spring game in the books, Jordan and the rest of Jones' unit will now work to prepare for OU's inaugural season in the SEC.
“It’s been great, the transition has been smooth," Jordan said. "I’ve been getting to know the guys real well, it’s a real welcoming place and i’m excited to get to play for this program.”
