The Jordan family is good at wrestling, and another member of the dynasty says he'll be wrestling in Scarlet & Grey, too. Rocky, the youngest son of St. Paris Graham coaching legend Jeff Jordan, announced via Twitter that he would follow brothers Bo and Micah in grappling at Ohio State as part of its star-studded 2018 class.
Happy to officially announce that I will be continuing my athletic and academic career at The Ohio State University! #GoBucks pic.twitter.com/sie7dnn4rx
— Rocky Jordan (@rocky_jordan2) September 18, 2017
FloWrestling has Jordan pegged as the fifth-ranked 165-pound prospect in the class, and the 52nd-ranked wrestler overall. He won state titles at 145 and 152 pounds, and although he casually mentioned interest in the Iowa Hawkeyes during an interview at the OHSAA state tournament, it's long been presumed he'd pledge to Tom Ryan's squad eventually.
@GrahamWrestling #RockyJordan after a state title #ohsaawrestling pic.twitter.com/Nk0y5Gkl0H
— Zebulin Miller (@zzsmiller) March 12, 2017
The Jordan family is legendary as a wrestling tribe. Brothers Jeff and Jim were each 4-time Ohio state high school champions who went on to become All Americans at Wisconsin, where Jim was also a two-time NCAA champion. Jeff has led his St. Paris Graham team to a staggering number of state championships as a head coach, and despite his ties to the Badgers, is now sending the third of his sons to Columbus.
“We’ve been wrestling for as long as I can remember,” Bo told The Lantern in 2015. “One of the earliest childhood memories I have is me wearing a diaper, knee pads and my dad’s shoes on the wrong feet trying to do penetration steps in the house.”
Ohio State will lose one Jordan after the 2018 NCAA tournament, where Bo has a shot to become one of three prospective 4-time All Americans on the Buckeye roster (Kyle Snyder and Nathan Tomasello are also 3-time All Americans heading into their senior seasons).
Head Coach Tom Ryan is recruiting like a man possessed, however, and has an incredible 2018 class on tap. Current commits include:
| Name | High School | Projected Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Jaden Mattox | Grove City Central Crossing | 165/174 |
| Malik Heinselman | Castle View (Colorado) | 125 |
| Jashon Hubbard | Steubenville | 157 |
| Gavin Hoffman | Montoursville (Pennsylvania) | 197 |
| Nate Keaton | Circleville | 141 |
| Kyle Gruber | Massillon Perry | 125 |
| Rocky Jordan | St. Paris Graham | 165/174 |
Hoffman recently medaled at the Cadet World Championships in Paris, and is #14 in the class according to InterMat, who rank Jordan #36 overall; Mattox clocks in at No. 18 and Heinselman at No. 40. The Buckeyes will receive an official visit from top-ranked prospect David Carr as well, so the class isn't necessarily finished yet.
If you think Tom Ryan isn't building a machine that can consistently compete with Cael Sanderson's juggernaut Penn State program, his success in recruiting this class says otherwise.
