It was only three years ago that Texas Tech football coach Joey McGuire was raving about a fresh-out-of-high school Brenden Jordan and the young safety's precocious dedication to learning the game. Ah, but time flies, especially for players who go through a college program never redshirting.
Jordan will be a senior this season, on the field and off. He's on track to complete a bachelor's degree in business this fall. And now he's the seasoned veteran of the secondary, expected to show the way for young players alongside him. Jordan objects, though, to calling junior safeties Peyton Morgan, Oliver Miles III, and Malik Esquerra young.
"They've been here almost the same amount of time as me," said Jordan, who's starting year four to their year three,
"so they're pretty experienced, and they've had a lot of practices under their belt playing against the first teams. So they're not really young. They're experienced, and they have talent. They have a lot of talent, and they know how to communicate well. I feel like that's all you need in a good safety."
Jordan's a good example. In his first three seasons, he's played in 40 games, starting 21 — the first seven at Star, the hybrid safety/outside linebacker spot, and all 14 games last year at field safety. Last season, defensive coordinator Shiel Wood designated safeties coach Rob Greene to relay calls via in-helmet communication to one player on defense, as new NCAA legislation allowed.
Jordan's the defensive player they chose to receive the communication and signal adjustments to teammates.
"Him being the green dot," linebacker John Curry said, "getting that over, like, Cole (Wisniewski) or someone like that — J-Rod (Jacob Rodriguez), Ben (Roberts), anyone on the team — that just goes to show how much this coaching staff and everyone on this team believes in him."
Jordan, a 6-foot, 205-pound Mansfield graduate, last season registered 59 tackles — fifth on Tech's 12-2 Orange Bowl team, third among 2026 returnees. He played field safety, a position that often patrols the deep middle. In an otherwise solid season, he had a rough day in Tech's 26-22 loss at Arizona State. The visual of ASU quarterback Sam Leavitt hitting some key passes stuck with some Jordan detractors.
Asked if Jordan is undervalued and underappreciated, Curry said, "A hundred percent. B.J. got a lot of slander to his name. Especially towards the end of the year, a lot of people were saying that he was a weak link and everything, and that's not true at all. He's a great football player. He comes in day in and day out and battles. He's a leader on this defense and on this team."
Jordan's communication skills and adaptability will be more important this season. Wood and Greene have to decide if their defense functions better with Jordan at field safety and Esquerra at boundary safety or with Jordan at boundary safety and Morgan or Miles at field safety.
Wood said on Monday, Aug. 17, it may be a few games into the season before they settle on a combination.
In the meantime, while Morgan, Miles, and Esquerra — all candidates to be a first-time starter — campaign at their natural positions, Jordan goes back and forth to accommodate.
"If it was anybody else, it would be a real challenge," McGuire said. "B.J.'s played so much, and he's going to end up playing all three safety spots whenever it's all said and done. An NFL team would absolutely love a kid like that because he can play all three spots. And depending on the period — it's not even the day — one period of practice he might go as our free safety, and one period he might go as our boundary safety. It's good, because all the other guys are responding."
"If it was somebody else but B.J," McGuire added, "I think their head would be spinning, but B.J., this is year four of him playing, so he's really got it down."
In Jordan's first year, McGuire was excited about the potential of three freshmen safeties from the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex who arrived in the 2023 recruiting class. Jordan outlasted the other two: Jordan Sanford, who transferred to California after the 2024 season, and Chapman Lewis, who transferred to Utah State after last season.
With the NCAA's newly enacted eligibility model allowing athletes to play five full seasons over five years, Jordan could stay with the Red Raiders for 2027. He hopes to have an NFL opportunity after this season, though.
"It's crazy," Jordan said. "Time has flown by. It's just like yesterday I was starting my first game, but it's been great here. I've had a great time. I've learned a lot under a lot of good coaches and a lot of good players that came through. I've seen a lot. I've seen the facilities change. I've seen a lot of things change since I've been here, so it's been great, honestly.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Brenden Jordan, the beating heart of the Texas Tech football back line
