Gator Country

Redshirt freshman Tommy Jordan is coming off shoulder surgery that kept him out of spring practice, and he'll have a lot of work to do to get ready to play in the SEC from a physical standpoint. / Photo by UF Communications

For the next few months, GatorCountry.com will be previewing the players that will make up the 2012 Florida football team as we lead up to the season.

Each day, we’ll count off a scholarship player until the season officially arrives on Sept. 1 with a home date against Bowling Green.

Today, we take a look at redshirt freshman offensive lineman Tommy Jordan.

History

Jordan arrived at Florida as a bit of an unheralded prospect from Connecticut, knowing he would probably take a redshirt season in his first year on campus.

He helped contribute on the scout team early in the 2011 season, even earning the scout team defensive player of the week award leading up to the Tennessee game.

However, Jordan’s season was cut short by a shoulder injury that required surgery to repair. He missed all of spring practice recovering from the surgery.

Player Evaluation

The only thing we’ve seen of Jordan so far is a few reps in pre-game warm-ups early in his freshman season. Without much to go by, we’ll reinforce the high school scouting report on Jordan.

At 6 foot 4, 288 pounds, Jordan has good size but could still use some additional weight. Having shoulder surgery likely kept him from making many strength or weight gains in his first year.

He played tackle in high school and showed good hand placement, but lacked the lateral quickness to make those who scouted him think he could play tackle very effectively at the next level.

Jordan does well as a run-blocker, which means he could be best suited to play inside at tackle once he adds a little more weight.

What to Expect

Florida is extremely deep on the offensive line, so don’t count on a guy who is essentially going into his first season with the team to make an impact.

Jordan has a leg up on some of the younger linemen just coming in because he’s been around for a year, but with a new playbook, that advantage is somewhat negated.

In any case, it’ll probably be at least another year or two before Jordan is really in the mix on the offensive line. He just needs to focus on getting his shoulder 100 percent and getting ready to play in the SEC from a physical standpoint.

About the author

Thomas Goldkamp

Thomas Goldkamp is the Gator Country beat reporter for football and basketball. He graduated from the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications and has been covering the Florida Gators since late 2009. He previously worked as a freelancer on the Rivals network, as well as at the Palm Beach Post. You can find his latest stories here.

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