Hun graduate playing in NFL-Europe league
By: Bill Alden
As a freshman at The Hun School in the fall of 1992, Jordan Younger excelled as a speedy, wiry soccer player for the Raiders.
But after the season, a classmate and football star, Amir Dew, dared Younger to prove his toughness by switching to the gridiron. When Younger took Dew’s challenge, he could never have imagined how far that choice would take him.
The Trenton native started his Hun football career as a 145-pound sophomore defensive back and became an All-State running back by his senior year, rushing for a school-record 1,099 yards that season.
Younger then headed to the University of Connecticut where he was a three-year starter at defensive back and set a school record for career return touchdowns with four.
Last year, Younger caught on with the Arizona Cardinals of the National Football League, making the team’s practice squad and getting activated on the main roster briefly in December. Now, though, Younger’s football odyssey has taken him across the Atlantic for the first time in his life as he is spending his spring playing for the Rhein Fire of the NFL Europe, allocated to the developmental league by the Cards.
Speaking in a recent phone interview, Younger said he is benefiting from the on-the-field training he is getting in the six-team circuit which is stocked with about 200 young players affiliated with NFL teams and also has franchises in Berlin, Frankfurt, Barcelona, Amsterdam and Scotland.
"I’ve improved confidence-wise. Having reps in game action has made me feel more comfortable on the field," said Younger, a return specialist who has been seeing action at reserve cornerback and nickel back.
"I’m learning what you have to bring to the table on a daily basis to compete in pro football. It’s a valuable experience."
Younger, an All-State sprinter who made it to the national high school championships in the 100-meters as a Hun senior, has particularly excelled this spring as a kick returner.
With just one week left in the NFL-Europe’s 10-game schedule, Younger is second in the league in punt returning with a 8.2 yard average return and is third in kickoff returning, averaging 21.9 yards a return.
"I’m doing real well returning and on special teams in general," said the 5-foot-10, 187-pound Younger, who likens the quality of play in the NFL Europe to that of a college all-star game.
"I know that my returning ability got me the chance at this level. I’ve gotten used to the speed of the play here."
One pleasant surprise of Younger’s European spring has been the fervor of the Rhein fans, who are known for blowing whistles throughout the team’s home games at the 57,000-seat Rheinstadion.
"These are the best fans I’ve ever been associated with," asserted Younger, whose Fire are in a second-place tie with a 5-4 record, fighting for a spot in the league’s World Bowl. "The fans here recognize me on the street and call me by my first name."
Unfortunately, Younger’s on-the-field commitments have afforded him little time to explore the sights of Europe.
"I spend most of my time in practice," he said. "We’ve seen a little of the cities we traveled to for games but there really isn’t a chance to go out much."
Younger lives in a Rhein hotel with several other teammates and has gotten the chance to sample a little of the local color.
"I’ve enjoyed meeting new people here and trying the different foods," said Younger, whose closest friends on the Fire are fellow Cardinals, safety Dee Cooper and wide receiver Andre Cooper.
"I was expecting it to be a lot different from the U.S. but there have been similarities in clothing and the fact that most people speak English."
Still, Younger admits there have been adjustments, "I’ve missed home but I wouldn’t say I’ve been homesick."
Younger attributes his Hun schooling with helping him get over the rough spots.
"Hun was a real educational process for me, meeting people from so many different backgrounds helped me learn to accept people’s differences," said Younger.
Younger added that the challenge from his classmate Dew which prompted him to open his eyes to football came at the right time since he had grown tired of soccer.
Another advantage of taking up football was that it brought Younger under the wing of Bill Long, the Hun football coach from 1987-1997 and the school’s current Dean of Students.
"Coach Long was more of a life teacher to me than a football coach," Younger asserted. "His big lesson was teaching me to be responsible and accountable in any situation."
Long, for his part, has fond memories of his part in Younger’s journey up the football ladder.
"Jordan was not only fast but as he played football at Hun, he got to the point where he was very tough along with always being coachable," Long said.
Long said that a turning point in Younger’s development as a football player came in the first game of his junior season against rival Pennington.
At one point in that game, after Younger has been beaten by a halfback pass, Long recalled that: "Jordan came up to me and before I could yell at him, he pointed at his chest and said ‘give me the ball.’"
On the first play after the kickoff, Long sent Younger off-tackle and he responded with a 68-yard touchdown gallop that proved to be the winning margin in a 12-8 Hun triumph.
Younger went on to gain 800 yards as a junior and then post the record-breaking senior season which, as Long remembered, came in a rainy fall in which "the closest anyone came to stopping Jordan were the weather conditions."
As Younger looks to reach his aim of making it to the next destination in the football world-a regular roster spot on a NFL team-he plans to draw on his tenacity.
"My father (Carey) helped me develop a toughness and instilled in me a feeling of hating to lose. I hope that I stick with the Cardinals but I think I’m improving enough so that someone will pick me up," Younger maintained. "Everything happens for a reason. I’m over here to compete and that will get noticed by someone."