Every once in a while, you hear about an outstanding college athlete who fails to live up to expectations in the big leagues. The story gets even sadder when you find out that the athlete made it through immense adversity to get to where they are, only to watch it slide away over a few bad decisions. This was certainly the case for the overall third pick in the 2013 NFL Draft, Dion Jordan, who had the world under his feet just waiting for him to conquer it.
Dion Jordan Biography
Dion Jordan is the first of three children born to mother Sherrita and father Dion Jordan. He was born on the 5th of March, 1990 in San Francisco, California. He spent most part of his childhood in the rough Hunters Point neighborhood in San Francisco before moving to Chandler, Arizona in his early teenage years. In Chandler, Jordan embraced his sporting abilities, first joining a youth track team before becoming a football star in Chandler High School.
Jordan’s physical attributes meant he was always the tallest in his class. He played both the defensive end and tight end positions, recording 54 pass receptions for 804 yards and 13 touchdowns in his junior year. He also had 13 pass receptions for 292 yards and 3 touchdowns in a season that was cut short due to a serious off-field accident that almost cost him his life.
The star high school athlete was almost burned to death while trying to syphon gas from an abandoned vehicle with a vacuum cleaner. The cleaner was said to have short-circuited which caused it to explode, leaving Jordan with very bad injuries. Fortunately for him, after first responders rushed him to a hospital, the young athlete was found not to have inhaled any life-threatening substance that might have caused devastating effects. He only needed skin graft surgery which kept him out of action for a few months.
Dion Jordan spent a while wrapped in bandages and could only get around with a walker. This threatened the probability of him going on to play football in college but Jordan was able to get himself healthy again to attend the University of Oregon on a scholarship. After redshirting the 2008 season, Jordan, who was now mostly playing as a defensive end, managed just 2 tackles in 6 games in a poor first season with the Oregon Ducks football team. His fortunes, however, changed in 2010 as he featured in 13 games and recorded 33 tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss, and 2 sacks.
For the 2011 season, Jordan became a starter, playing in a college career-high 14 games as he went on to record 42 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, and 7.5 sacks. His performances further earned him a first-team All-Pac-12 Conference selection. The following year, Jordan was again named to the first-team All-Pac-12 Conference selection on the back of 44 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, and 5 sacks performance that year.
After completing his collegiate career, Dion Jordan was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the 2013 NFL Draft as the third overall pick. He went on to spend 4 years with the Dolphins which was marred by lengthy suspensions over drug use. Despite getting all the time he required to get his act together, Jordan kept on letting down those who cared for him. He was eventually released by the team, leaving room for him to head to Seattle to turn a new chapter with the Seahawks.
Family – Parents
As inferred above, Dion Jordan was named after his father who almost played no part in him and his siblings’ upbringing. Jordan, and his two younger siblings; Michael and Sherrelle, were instead raised by their mother who also had her own demons as she was a drug addict. By the time Jordan was 12, he and his siblings were sent to Chandler, Arizona to live with his mother’s sister, Yative Tiger, where for the first time in his life, he experienced serenity in a home.
A few years later, his mother, Sherrita Jordan, got herself clean from drugs and moved to Arizona to be with her kids. This time around, she formed a bond with them as Jordan began referring to her as “my dog” and “my angel.” His mother has further helped steer her children towards a path that would lead them out of poverty – Jordan became an NFL player while Michael attended school and Sherrelle showed prospects of becoming a star hurdler.
Height, Weight, And Measurements
Dion Jordan has an impressive height of 6 feet 5 inches or 1.98 m and weighs 281 pounds or 127 kg. He further has an arm length of 33 7⁄8 inches or 0.86 m while his hand size measures at 10 inches or 0.25 m.
