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Matthew Jordan became Georgia Tech's 11th commitment for the 2014 class on June 29th, and in doing so closed out a month that saw the Yellow Jackets score 8 new commitments. (We're doing these in order of commitment, but with the early enrollees first. Jordan is the most recent commitment of the four early enrollees.) He's listed at 6'2", 205lbs, and hails from Jackson High School in Jackson, AL. (For those unaware, getting to Jackson involves taking I-85 to I-65, and heading up US-43 just before reaching Mobile. There's a more efficient route, but in either case it's going to take you about 4.5 hours.) His high school teammate, Gavin Bryant, is a 3-star linebacker joining around 341 other guys in Knoxville. Jordan was rated the #25 overall prospect in Alabama, and comes to Georgia Tech over offers from Nebraska, Northern Illinois, and others.
Watching his film makes one wonder why Jordan didn't get any more attention from other schools. First off, his frame is perfect for the role he'll play at Georgia Tech -- he's tall enough to throw from the pocket, but not so tall that he loses leverage. Plus, his frame is solid, meaning durability and speed. Oh, and speed isn't just an assumption. Jordan can run. He shows great speed, vision, and has pretty good agility to boot. Also, it turns out QB's are supposed to be able to throw -- Jordan can do that too. He does a great job with footwork and mechanics in the pocket, but can also throw on the run on rollout passes or when flushed from the pocket. His deep passes in particular are beautiful -- he shows great arm strength but also accuracy in the vertical passing game. The only potential "flaw" I can find in his highlight tape is that he played seemingly entirely from the shotgun in high school, meaning there will be a learning curve to playing from under center. However, if that's a QB's biggest question coming in to this offense, there's really not much to worry about.
Another thing you'll come to find out about Jordan is that he's really got a good head on his shoulders. After hearing of Vad Lee's departure, Jordan spoke with Kelly Quinlan of JacketsOnline. His reaction (subscription required) was extremely impressive for a high school senior, and showed great maturity and understanding of the game. If you need more evidence, watch his highlights around the 1:03 mark and watch him stay with a play long enough to block two defenders 30+ yards down the field -- and that's after handing the ball off.
With the open competition this spring at QB following Lee's departure, Jordan could really make things interesting with his skill set and understanding of the game. I'm not going to make a prediction of where he ends up, but I do think he's a guy who will have a legitimate shot at the starting job, where others might have had more of an "honorary" shot.
Jordan was rated a 3-star dual-threat QB by Rivals (5.5) and the 247Sports Composite (.8204).
Like what you see by Jordan? Is he the next great QB at Georgia Tech? Think he makes the two-deep this year as a true freshman?
