Indiana Football: Jordan Jusevitch Willing To Do Whatever It Takes
In leading Lowell (Ind.) High to a state championship appearance last season, Indiana freshman Jordan Jusevitch wore many hats.
Not only was he a starting safety, he also played running back, kick returner and wide receiver.
Jusevitch did not care what position he played. He only wanted to help his team suceed.
"Whatever I could do to to help my team win is what it comes down to," Jusevitch said.
Such is the approach he will be bringing to IU after a well-rounded preps career.
At running back, he carried the ball 94 times for 412 yards and 9 touchdowns. At wide receiver, he caught 28 balls for 503 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also tallied 136 kickoff return yards, 159 punt return yards, and 160 interception return yards to finish with 1,370 all-purpose yards as a senior.
Lowell finished 14-1 - the lone loss coming in the Indiana High School Athletic Association Class 4A state championship - and Jusevitch was one of five finalists for Indiana Mr. Football (IU classmate Reese Taylor took home that award).
Jusevitch's passion for the game and grit recognized by Indiana Mr. Football voters also caught the attention of IU head coach Tom Allen during the recruiting process.
"I'm not the fastest, not the strongest, but the way I work and in everything I do, I want to be the best," Jusevitch said of what Allen liked about his style of play. "Just be a leader on the field, off the field, in the weight room, every way possible, he wants me to be a leader."
Allen's request was put in place well before Jusevitch's mid-June arrival on campus.
Jusevitch verbally committed to IU on January 21, 2017, becoming the first member of IU's 26-man signing class for the 2018 cycle. South Carolina cornerback Elijah Rodgers did not commit to IU until April 1 that year, while the majority of Indiana's commitments would not arrive until later this summer.
"Being able to say I started that, in a way, it feels pretty good," Jusevitch said.
Social media became an important recruiting tool, as Jusevitch would reach out to players as soon as they got IU offers.
"I would talk to all these guys," Jusevitch said. "If I saw someone got an offer, I'd DM-ing them right away saying 'come join me.' Just a lot of special players here now with us."
Now settled in on campus with all of his classmates, the only responsibility Jusevitch has these days aside from summer workouts is learning the playbook.
He could end up playing safety or husky, but chances are he'll only care where he plays as long as it puts Indiana in position to have the most success as a team.
"Just doing whatever I can to get the job done," Jusevitch said. "That's what it's all about."
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