2020 NFL Draft Prospect Interview: Calvin Jordan, DB, Benedictine University

• Name: Calvin Jordan
• Height: 5’11
• Weight: 180
• Position:DB/Athlete
• College: Benedictine University
• Twitter:  _CalvinJordan9

Tell us about your hometown, and what you love most about it?

• Chicago Illinois. I love the culture that the city created. I love the people, the food, and the talent that comes out of the city.

List these three in order of importance and why: Film Study, Strength and Conditioning and Practice?

• Strength and Conditioning, Film Study, Practice. All three of these points are equally important, but the reason why I put strength and conditioning first is due to the physical demands that the game of football requires from you. Yeah, you can be great in the other two areas but without being in “Football” shape you won’t be as successful as you could be, if that makes sense.

What do you worry about, and why?

• Not optimizing my full potential and letting fear takeover.  I do not want to be another kid that had all the potential in the world, but never did anything with it. I’ve witnessed to many people, especially my peers, just throw their potential away and watch life pass them by. I want to be something, I want to be more than what my environment showed me growing up. 

Give me an example of when you failed at something. How did you react and how did you overcome failure?

•Ok  this is more academic , but I was taking a Business Law class and didn’t do good on the previous exam. It put me at a risk of failing the course and I was stressing. It was a requirement on my checklist, so failing was not an option. I literally asked the professor what I needed to know for the final exam, and studied like crazy the whole week prior to the final exam. I ended up passing the exam and the course and also taught myself better study habits.

What do your teammates say is your best quality?

•My competitiveness. No matter what the drill is , or who I am matched up with on gameday, I want to win. I feel like this energy can put me in positions to help not only myself, but my teammates become better and also win games.

Who is the best player you have ever played against in college?

•Matt Fleming, he is an incredible athlete. He really helped me develop as a corner and tested my speed and technique countless times at practice. I am not surprised that the Chicago Bears chose to sign him to the 90-man roster in 2018.

What would your career be if you couldn’t play football? 

• Financial Services, I want to put my Finance degree to use. Real estate also sparks my attention.

Room, desk, and car – which do you clean first?

• Room, Desk, Car

If there was a disaster and you could either save three strangers or one family member, which would you choose and why?

• I strongly dislike questions like these because obviously I would want to save everyone if I could. However, in this situation, I would choose to save my family member.

If you could be any television or movie character, who would you be and why?

• Naruto Uzumaki. I am a nerd, I’ll admit it. I like to watch anime, but the reason why I chose Naruto is because of his story and the lessons that came from it. He literally started off with nothing, no family, no friends, and no one liked him in the village because of what was inside of him. However, he had a dream of becoming Hokage (strongest ninja in the village and the protector) and battled through a lot of adversity. His persistence and will of fire kept his dream alive when no one else believed in him. He eventually became the Hokage and most respected Ninja, not only in his village, but across nations. He also saved his best friend from going down a path of darkness fueled by hate and revenge. 

Tell me about your biggest adversity in life and how you’ve dealt with or overcome it?

• My dad being diagnosed with leukemia , which led to me having to leave the game of football  my sophomore year and finding a job to help pay bills at home. It was hard to deal with at first, especially since I was so young at the time and seeing my dad in a life threatening situation was scary. I stayed strong throughout the recovery and did my best to help out where I could, while keeping a balance in my academic life.  

What is your most embarrassing moment?

• Playing a Football game when I was a kid and I forgot my belt. So when I was running the ball and got tackled, my pants came down.

What was the most memorable play of your collegiate career?

• TBA, but I did win a national championship in 2017 for track and field. So that was cool. 

What song best describes your work ethic?

• Meek Mill X Won’t Stop (DreamChasers), or Outta Sight Outta Mind X Gunna. I love music too much, it is hard to pick just one. 

What is the most important trait you can have (Physical or Non-Physical) to help you succeed at the next level? 

• My understanding and feel for the game. I’ve been playing football since I was 8 years old. I am 21 now, so the experience over 13 years and understanding of both sides of the ball helps me play the game without thinking too much. Also, I believe I have elite speed which would help me keep up with faster receivers.  

If you could bring one person back from the dead for one day, who would it be and why?

• My grandma, she was the realest on my team.I miss sitting down with her and just talking about life and all the wisdom she would instill in me from our talks. 

If you were to open a dance club, what would you name it? 

• Club Chama ( which is party in swahili)  

Who is the most underrated player in the NFL? 

• Keenan Allen. All the hype and attention around the mainstream receivers and his injury kept him under the radar. But if you really look at and study his film, he is one of the most talented/smoothest receivers in the league. Madden needs to reevaluate a few areas of his game to fix some of his ratings. 

Would you rather be liked or respected, and why?

• Respected. False illusions can easily win people over and get them to like you. Respect is earned and you have to be true to yourself to obtain it  

What player who had his career derailed by off-field issues do you feel for the most and why?

• Johnny “Football” Manziel & Josh Gordon. Two potential Hall of Famers in my opinion, but they had a hard time overcoming their personal challenges which set their professional careers back.

Do you love to win, or hate to lose?

• Hate to lose, but learn from every loss.

Who has been the biggest influence on your life and explain why?

My father, he taught me what it’s like to work hard for the things we want in life at a very early age. Just watching him wake up at 5 in the morning everyday to get ready to go to work and coming back in the evening to provide for his family was something I really appreciated and understood more as I got older. He worked hard and never complained about anything and always made sure we had what we wanted. Now that he is retired and focusing on his health, I want to step in and take care of him and my mom the same way they have been doing for me my whole life.