Ty Jordan

{{Infobox college football player

|name=Ty Jordan

|image=

|caption=

|currentnumber=22

|birth_date= {{birth date|2001|11|21}}

|birth_place=Mesquite, Texas, U.S.

|death_date={{Death date and age|2020|12|25|2001|11|21}}

|death_place=Denton, Texas, U.S.

|currentposition=Running back

|highschool=West Mesquite {{nowrap|(Mesquite, Texas)}}

|heightft=5

|heightin=7

|weight_lb=200

|pastschools=

Utah (2020)

|highlights=

Second-team All-Pac-12 (2020)
Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year (2020)
Freshman All-American (2020)
Utah Utes No. 22 retired

}}

Ty-Coreous Jordan{{cite news|first=Jeff|last=Call|title='I love Ty and I miss him': Utah football family honors Ty Jordan at celebration of life in Dallas|date=January 6, 2021|newspaper=Deseret News|url=https://www.deseret.com/sports/2021/1/6/22216907/utah-football-ty-jordan-celebration-of-life-kyle-whittingham|access-date=January 7, 2021}} (November 21, 2001{{snd}}December 25, 2020{{cite news|first=Josh|last=Newman|title='We went crazy every time he touched the ball.' How Ty Jordan's deep football roots in Texas led him to Utah|date=January 1, 2021|newspaper=The Salt Lake Tribune|url=https://www.sltrib.com/sports/utah-utes/2020/12/31/ty-jordan-got-love/|access-date=January 2, 2021|quote=Jordan turned 19-years old on Nov. 21, which happened to be the same day as his collegiate debut vs. USC at Rice-Eccles Stadium.}}) was an American college football player who was a running back for the Utah Utes in the Pac-12 Conference. He earned second-team all-conference honors and was named the Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year in 2020.

Early life

As a junior at West Mesquite High School in Mesquite, Texas, Jordan rushed for 1,236 yards and 16 touchdowns. In his senior year in 2019, he ran for 453 yards on 77 carries and had 41 receptions for 378 yards and scored a combined 11 touchdowns (7 rushing, 4 receiving).{{cite news|first=Trevor|last=Allen|title=Ty Jordan Adds Speed To RB Position After Signing With Utah|date=December 18, 2019|website=KSLSports.com|url=https://kslsports.com/424834/ty-jordan-adds-speed-to-rb-position-after-signing-with-utah/|access-date=December 27, 2020}} Jordan was also on the school's track and field team, running a personal-best 10.52 in the 100-meter dash as a junior.{{cite news|first=Josh|last=Newman|title=Ty Jordan's track and field background aiding his emergence for Utah football|date=December 9, 2020|newspaper=The Salt Lake Tribune|url=https://www.sltrib.com/sports/utah-utes/2020/12/08/ty-jordans-track-field/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201213124303/https://www.sltrib.com/sports/utah-utes/2020/12/08/ty-jordans-track-field/|archive-date=December 13, 2020}}

Jordan initially committed verbally to play college ball for the Texas Longhorns,{{cite news|first=Devin|last=Hasson|title=West Mesquite's Jordan commits to UT|date=September 16, 2019|newspaper=Mesquite News|url=https://starlocalmedia.com/mesquitenews/sports/west-mesquite-s-jordan-commits-to-ut/article_be4113c4-da3a-11e9-840d-cbf8dc3e3576.html|access-date=December 27, 2020}}{{cite news|first=Chris|last=Dukes|title=Texas football: Watch: Highlights of new Texas running back commit Ty Jordan|date=September 16, 2019|work=SI.com|url=https://www.si.com/college/texas/football/texas-football-watch-highlights-of-new-texas-running-back-commit-ty-jordan|access-date=December 27, 2020}} but he decommitted and signed with the Utah Utes instead.{{cite news|first=Griffin|last=McVeigh|title=Former Texas commit signs with Utah|date=December 18, 2019|newspaper=USA Today|url=https://longhornswire.usatoday.com/2019/12/18/former-texas-commit-signs-with-utah/|access-date=December 27, 2020}}

College career

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic during the 2020 season at the University of Utah,{{cite news|first=Josh|last=Newman|title=Utah Utes' long-awaited season-opener vs. USC offered mixed results|date=November 23, 2020|newspaper=The Salt Lake Tribune|url=https://www.sltrib.com/sports/utah-utes/2020/11/22/utah-utes-long-awaited/|access-date=January 2, 2021}} Jordan made his college debut on his 19th birthday on November 21, 2020, when he had 53 all-purpose yards on eight touches in a 33–17 loss to USC. In his third game, he rushed 27 times for 167 yards for the first 100-yard rushing game by a Utah true freshman since Chris Fuamatu-Maʻafala in 1995.{{cite news|first=Christopher|last=Kamrani|title=Ty Jordan bursts through Oregon State, and to the top of the Utah depth chart|date=December 6, 2020|work=The Athletic|url=https://theathletic.com/2242267/2020/12/06/ty-jordan-utah-oregon-state/|access-date=December 27, 2020|url-access=subscription}} He later became the first Utes freshman since Fuamatu-Maʻafala to accumulate three straight 100-yard rushing games.{{cite web|title=Utah Football Rallies From Behind For 45-28 Win Over Washington State|date=December 19, 2020|website=Pac-12.com|publisher=Utah Athletics|url=https://pac-12.com/article/2020/12/19/utah-football-rallies-behind-45-28-win-over-washington-state|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210731065657/https://pac-12.com/article/2020/12/19/utah-football-rallies-behind-45-28-win-over-washington-state|url-status=dead|archive-date=July 31, 2021|access-date=December 27, 2020}} Jordan finished the season with 597 rushing yards and six touchdowns in five games. His 144.6 all-purpose yards per game average ranked second among freshmen in the Football Bowl Subdivision.{{cite news|first=John|last=Marshall|title=Utah's Ty Jordan named Pac-12 newcomer of the year by AP (+Pac-12 all-league honors)|date=December 25, 2020|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.ksl.com/article/50073444/utahs-ty-jordan-named-pac-12-newcomer-of-the-year-by-ap-pac-12-all-league-honors|access-date=December 27, 2020}}

The Pac-12 named Jordan to their All-Pac-12 second team and voted him the Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year.{{cite web|title= 2020 Pac-12 Football All-Conference honors and annual awards announced|date=December 22, 2020|publisher=Pac-12 Conference|url= https://pac-12.com/article/2020/12/21/2020-pac-12-football-all-conference-honors-and-annual-awards-announced|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20201222200437/https://pac-12.com/article/2020/12/21/2020-pac-12-football-all-conference-honors-and-annual-awards-announced|url-status= dead|archive-date= December 22, 2020|access-date=December 27, 2020}} He was the first Utah player to garner conference freshman of the year recognition since Jason Kaufusi in 2000, when the Utes were in the Mountain West Conference.{{cite news|first=Jeff|last=Call|title= Utah's Ty Jordan earns Pac-12 Offensive Freshman Player of the Year honors|date=December 22, 2020|newspaper=Deseret News|url=https://www.deseret.com/sports/2020/12/22/22195878/utah-football-ty-jordan-pac-12-honors-freshman-offensive-player-of-the-year|access-date=December 27, 2020}} Jordan was also named to the Freshman All-America team by The Athletic and the True Freshman All-American team by 247Sports.{{cite news|first=Max|last=Olson|title=The Athletic's 2020 college football Freshman All-America team|date=December 22, 2020|work=The Athletic|url=https://theathletic.com/2278055/2020/12/22/will-anderson-freshman-all-america-team/?article_source=search&search_query=khari%20coleman|access-date=December 30, 2020|url-access=subscription}}{{cite news|first=Trevor|last=Allen|title=Utah RB Ty Jordan Named 247Sports Freshman All-American|date=December 30, 2020|website=KSLSports.com|url=https://kslsports.com/449771/utah-rb-ty-jordan-named-247sports-freshman-all-american/|access-date=January 15, 2021}} The Associated Press selected him as the Pac-12 Newcomer of the Year.{{cite web|title=TY JORDAN NAMED AP PAC-12 NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR, FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICAN|date=December 24, 2020|publisher=Utah Utes|url=https://utahutes.com/news/2020/12/24/football-ty-jordan-named-ap-pac-12-newcomer-of-the-year.aspx|access-date=January 2, 2021}}

Personal life and death

In December 2018, Jordan's mother, Tiffany, was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer. She received a bone cancer diagnosis the following month in January. In November 2019, a picture went viral of Jordan kneeling with a friend on the opposing team in prayer for Jordan's mother.{{cite news|first=Noelle|last=Walker|title=Viral Photo of NTX Football Players from Opposing Teams in Prayer Gives Mom Fighting Cancer Hope|date=November 8, 2019|website=NBCDFW.com|url=https://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/viral-photo-of-ntx-football-players-from-opposing-teams-in-prayer-gives-mom-fighting-cancer-hope/2111668/|access-date=December 26, 2020}}{{cite news|first1=Scott|last1=Stump|first2=Rachel Paula |last2=Abrahamson|title=Viral Photo of NTX Football Players from Opposing Teams in Prayer Gives Mom Fighting Cancer Hope|date=November 8, 2019|website=Today.com|url=https://www.today.com/news/high-school-football-player-prays-opponent-whose-mom-has-cancer-t166567|access-date=January 15, 2021}} She died in August 2020.

On December 25, 2020, four months after his mother's death, Jordan died in Denton, Texas, after being shot in the abdomen from an apparent self-inflicted accidental gunshot.{{cite news|first=Justin|last=Grass|title= Medical examiner reports Utah running back Ty Jordan died in Denton of gunshot wound|date=December 27, 2020|newspaper=Denton Record-Chronicle|url= https://dentonrc.com/news/medical-examiner-reports-utah-running-back-ty-jordan-died-in-denton-of-gunshot-wound/article_e50f9958-356c-5f4c-a857-42dfe3a70a59.html|access-date=December 27, 2020}} He was 19 years old.{{cite web|first=Mark|last=Schlabach|title=Utah Utes RB Ty Jordan, Pac-12 Offensive Freshman of the Year, dies|date=December 26, 2020|url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/30600621/utah-utes-rb-ty-jordan-pac-12-offensive-freshman-year-dies|website=ESPN.com|access-date=December 26, 2020}} His death on Christmas was just a day after he was named the conference newcomer of the year.{{cite news|first=Nina|last=Quatrino|title=Former Sherman football player reflects on Ty Jordan's death|date=December 29, 2020|website=KXII.com|url=https://www.kxii.com/2020/12/29/former-sherman-football-player-reflects-on-ty-jordans-death/|access-date=January 2, 2021}}

Jordan's memorial service was held on January 6, 2021, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The University of Utah chartered a plane, and his service was attended by members of the athletic department and most of the football team and coaching staff. It was just the second memorial service ever held at AT&T Stadium—the first was the tribute to U.S. military sniper Chris Kyle in 2013.{{cite news|first=Mac|last=Engel|title=A fallen football star's homecoming has one final trip to the end zone at AT&T Stadium|date=January 6, 2021|newspaper=Fort Worth Star-Telgram|url=https://www.star-telegram.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/mac-engel/article248308550.html|access-date=January 7, 2021}}

Legacy

After his death, the Ty Jordan Memorial Scholarship was founded, and it was awarded to Aaron Lowe, with whom Jordan played in both high school and at Utah. Lowe changed his jersey number to No. 22 in Jordan’s honor. Lowe was shot and killed on September 26, 2021, which was nine months and one day after Jordan’s death.{{Cite web|date=2021-09-26|title=Utah football player Lowe killed in SLC shooting|url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/32284862/utah-football-player-aaron-lowe-killed-salt-lake-city-shooting|access-date=2021-12-04|website=ESPN.com|language=en}} No. 22 was retired on October 30, 2021, in Jordan’s and Lowe’s memories.{{Cite web|date=2021-10-26|title=Utah to honor Jordan, Lowe by retiring No. 22|url=https://www.espn.com/college-football/story/_/id/32481446/utah-honor-ty-jordan-aaron-lowe-retiring-no-22-ucla-game|access-date=2021-12-04|website=ESPN.com|language=en}} On December 3, 2021, at the Pac-12 Conference Championship, there was a “moment of loudness” in their memories.{{Cite tweet |user=utah_football |number=1466160430737281024 |url=https://twitter.com/utah_football/status/1466160430737281024 |access-date=2023-05-31 |title=We are bringing the Moment of Loudness to Vegas |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211202055340/https://twitter.com/Utah_Football/status/1466160430737281024 |archive-date=2021-12-02 |language=en}}