Page 5 of The Backup Plan
Are we waiting for anyone else? Give us the story, because your boy just quit on us the way he quit on you guys. What happened to Jordan?
If there was a question with more traction than Who’s going to start at quarterback? it was What happened to Jordan?
Whoever knew wasn’t sharing. The alumni and boosters wanted answers no one would or could give them, and when word spread that the coaches were looking at his backups and transfer options, media went as far as sending reporters to Jordan Ackerman’s parents’ home in South Dakota to dig up why the university’s star quarterback, a top draft prospect in his final year of college eligibility, simply didn’t show up to training camp.
His parents said nothing.
Players were told not to speak to the media about their former teammate, and in the locker room, the whispers spanned every possibility from prison to rehab to witness protection. Like Hayden did with Malik, Cam sat behind Jordan as a red-shirt freshman bench-warmer and spent more time with him than anyone else did. He wanted him back more than anyone else did, too.
Cameron
I’ve heard everything from alien abduction to kibbutz influencer life.
Ethan
I worry about the guy.
Hayden
No one gives up this gig and walks away when he could be a first-round pick. No one.
Cameron
What would make you guys bail?
Cory
It would have to be some kind of major health reason. Major. I worked too hard my entire life to get here. I can’t think of another reason.
Hayden
Depends how rich the sugar momma is. Or how close the cops are to finding the bodies.
Ethan
Are you always this dense, Hammy?
I’ve heard people say it was about a girl. I love Kaia, but I am not breaking my stride if she wants out. Jordy quitting over a girl does NOT track.
Cameron
Everyone’s still confused here. We loved Jordan. Hell of a leader. Hell of a great guy. I have no idea how to follow that.
Cory
It’ll be tough for a while, and that doesn’t mean you’re doing anything wrong. I followed Patrick Hart, and the dude was loved. It took a minute.
Marshall
You’re the face of the program now. Come talk to us when it gets bad, because your coaches and media team will not care if you don’t feel pretty for interviews. We’re the guys who have been there.
And when the P.R. team says jump, you ask how high.
Hayden
Oh damn, they told me I need a haircut.
Bee stings again. The clogged throat. Jordan Ackerman, their “Air it out, Jordan!” was as good-looking as he was gifted, and even in the promotional photos where he was instructed to look tough and get a game face on, his lips curled at one corner—a tell, they called it, an unconscious bit of body language that gave away the next move. That tell was the smile he couldn’t hide, the one that said Let’s dance.