St. Joseph Catholic School’s Jordan Jennings is a modest young man and is not one to toot his own horn. But, the coaches and teammates who know him best have nothing but praise for the undersized wide receiver.
Jennings’ head football coach John Baker had this to say about him: “Jordan has always been one of the smaller guys on team, and he has had to work hard. He needed to be a little meaner, a little tougher and a little faster. He has always had to work a little harder, and he has always had a bigger heart.”
In a few weeks, Jennings will enter his senior season for the Irish, who open their season Aug. 27 on the road against Riverside. Jennings, a 5-foot-10, 150-pound wide receiver, will be a main target of quarterback C.J. Moore this year. He expects to have his best season yet.
“I know that a lot of the younger guys look up to me so I have to be a role model,” Jennings said. “I am just going to go in every week and get better. We are going to take it game by game and build chemistry.”
Jennings has grown up as a member of the Irish. He played for the junior varsity team as a freshman, and then was on the St. Joe sidelines to watch the program win its third straight state championship in 2019. He said he learned a lot by watching star players like Dillon Johnson and Trey Benson prepare for each game during St. Joe’s state championship runs. Now, as a team leader, he is planning on using that knowledge to lead his team to state title glory again.
“I learned that hard work pays off, and in the long run, you need to trust your teammates and know that they got your back,” he said.
Jennings is not the only Irish receiver expected to do big things this season.
Receivers like Donnie Smith, Jerrian King and Kye Nelson will give QB Moore a number of weapons to choose from.
“We are going to be a little more pass oriented this year,” Coach Baker said. “We haven’t done this in three or four years, but this is what is called for with our personnel.”
Said Jennings, “This is going to be fun with all these receivers because it is not really a competition because we all know our strengths and weaknesses and we help each other out.”
Along with athletics, Jennings also excels in the classroom. He is an A-student who hopes to one day attend Mississippi State University and study kinesiology.
“He is a great kid,” Coach Baker said. He is a leader in the classroom and a straight-A student.
“Last year he broke out and caught a few touchdowns for us. He is a really good receiver who can also play cornerback for us. He is also the holder for the extra point.
“He is one of those kids who never comes off the field.”
