Kyler Jordan wins second consecutive Defensive Player Of the Year
One of the best-kept secrets in the 2022 class is Lubbock Cooper defensive end Kyler Jordan.
All Jordan does is make big plays, win awards, and help his team win ballgames. Yet you look at his offer list, and so far the 6-foot-2, 240 pound prospect only has two offers - from Illinois State and Nevada. And while Jordan is certainly thankful for those offers, he wants to keep working and earn himself some more opportunities in the future.
Meanwhile, Jordan's Cooper Pirates went 11-2 this year, which is a tremendous achievement as the team battled through the pandemic and faced some tough competition all year.
"As everybody knows this season was one that will never be forgotten. It made practices and stuff hard, our whole football team got quarantined for two weeks in the middle of district. It was weird with the crowds too. It's just weird having your parents stress about tickets and stuff you never really had to worry about before.
As a team I think we handled it pretty well, honestly. We all kept our masks on as much as possible. We had to trust each other that we were wearing our masks outside of football too, which can be hard sometimes. I think we handled it pretty well.
We had a good season, we competed, we had to play against a good Wichita Falls Rider team in the playoffs and they honestly straight up beat us. They played good enough to win. Jacob Rodriguez is a phenomenal athlete, as we all knew.
I feel like we had a pretty good football team. We could have been a little more productive on offense but as the year went I think we had a pretty good football team. Our defense was pretty solid in all 13 games."
Jordan for his part was productive as always, finishing with 41 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks and a fumble recovery. For his efforts he won the District 3-5A Defensive Player of the Year award - for the second straight season.
"It means a lot, just that other people are recognizing how much work I've put in and how hard I play. I mean, just look at the other guys in our district. You've got Kobie McKinzie, Jacob Rodriguez, Jed Castles, Dooda Banks, there are some really, really solid football players in our district.
I'm not the biggest kid, I'm not the fastest kid, but it feels good for somebody else to recognize that measurables aren't everything. It feels good to be in the mix of everything two years in a row. Hopefully it helps me out in recruiting a little bit."
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Cooper's game vs. Frenship was actually moved to Texas Tech's Jones AT&T Stadium. For a lifelong Red Raiders fan such as Jordan, that is one experience he'll never forget.
"It was awesome. Growing up in Lubbock, I've been here for all 17 years of my life. I've been watching in the stands, watching Texas Tech play. I understand it was a high school football game but it's still playing in the stadium that I've dreamed of playing in my entire life. I mean I grew up watching my cousin Seth Doege playing there.
It's been a long time in my head that that could be me one day, and I just hope that I'm getting closer to that dream. It was really fun to play Frenship for sure just because it's such a big rivalry. It was a great atmosphere. I could definitely see myself playing there in the future."
While Tech hasn't offered yet, there is interest picking up with Tech's Director of Recruiting Preston Pehrson recently getting in contact with the talented lineman.
"We talked this past weekend a little bit. He told me that they watched my tape, they liked what they saw and that we're going to keep in touch. I also talked to Sonny Cumbie a bit, probably three or four days after he got to Tech. Just a little contact with him because he was the one who was recruiting me at TCU. Coach Cumbie is also the position coach recruiting our area, I think that's what coach Darden told me."
Meanwhile, Jordan is continuing to hear a lot from one of the offers he does currently have in the Nevada Wolf Pack.
"I haven't heard anything from Illinois State since they offered but I talk to Nevada very often. They seem very interested which feels good for somebody willing to pay for your school and it wasn't a one-time interaction. They're still wanting to get to know me."
As football season comes to an end, Jordan will now prepare for baseball season where he plays 1st base. Per his Perfect Game profile, Jordan also pitches and his fastball reaches 81 miles per hour, which is in the 85th percentile for his class.
"I'm playing baseball this offseason. Hopefully start at 1st base. I'm gonna get my weight up, maybe around 250-ish. I'll be in the gym every single day, that's my routine. So yeah, I'll be playing baseball.
This summer, I just hope we can go to camps and hopefully I'll have the opportunity to take some official visits. I would like to be committed before my senior year of football so I don't have to worry about it.
I just hope I have a few more options so God can put me in the right place."