Jordan Crook

Special teams is the ante-room of the game, the portal from the waiting room of the practice roster to the front parlor of starting on offense or defense.

Most new players to the CFL have to make the game day roster by playing specials, and the special bunch prefer to keep playing them even after they start or get a lot of playing time on the other two teams, guys like Tyler Trinowski, Ryan Baker, Jordan Crook, Myron Ritchell, Owen Hubert, and there are many more, plus, of course, Litra, who could write a PhD dissertation on its intricacies.

There are great returners across the league and have been for years, and we'll see how the two-year installation of new rules affect that, but I suspect there will still be an important place for dynamic returns, perhaps just in different forms.

Rules have changed significantly and several times over the years, and the returns still and always find a way of grabbing our attention, which brings me around to the personal memory of a return today.

17 points by himself.

Jordan Crook, uh, Cook rather, punched in a one-yard score on fourth and goal, and hit, uh, Shadan, uh, Chi- Cheedan James for eight yards.

Tre'Shon Short also had two of four picks for Idaho State.

They scored the final 13 points after Utah State briefly went ahead 17-16 late in the third.

Who's the spark going to be? We haven't seen Ternowski on the field lately, and he's been one of those spark plugs, and he was a guy last season we saw he was getting blocked punts, big-time special team tackles.

We're looking at guys on this cover unit, guys like Crook, who's going to get out there, fly around, make a play on special teams on those cover units.

Then we also need a guy who's been a playmaker for a majority of his career, and that's Isaiah Wooden.

So we're putting spotlights on guys for them to make plays and do it on the big stage.

I'm expecting big-time highlights.

Somebody's got to rise to the occasion.

I'm looking at guys like Crook.

I'm looking at guys like Isaiah Wooden on special teams.

Far side of the field gets to the 15, 20.

It's Jake Nittachorok and Jordan Crook bringing him down for the opening tackle of the game.

Just shy of the 30-yard line.

A return of 23.

And again...

We just lost a nice depth piece in our linebacker core, and Jordan Crook is part of that class of 2025.

He is playing Canadian football.

He is a linebacker.

And again...

We just lost a nice depth piece in our linebacker core, and Jordan Crook is part of that class of 2025.

He is playing Canadian football.

He is a linebacker.

...

Zyrus Fiusa, it was Keshawn Elliott and Jordan Crook.

There wasn't really another linebacker.

I mean, Martell Hughes, but again, he was like you and far-

There was turnovers.

Crook was all over the place.

It was just a lot of fun to watch.

And this is almost what we're coming to expect now from this defense.

He is hitting people with, you know, trying to go through people, and he is.

Wynn McManus, obviously we know, right? Braxton Hill making plays both on defense.

and special teams same with Jordan Crook like those two guys over at the will spot are unbelievable football players and are able to get it done all over the place whether it's special teams whether it's defense it doesn't matter if they're in front of them they're hitting them right and then obviously with Wynton McManus we know what what he's able to be what he's able to do and capable of so If when you look at all of these depth charts, when you look at all these linebackers that are dressing around the league, this is the best group top to bottom.

And there's no question about it that they make the most plays on this football team, game in and game out.

But I said it yesterday, I didn't really expect to see anybody else really stand out in that linebacker room, because you didn't necessarily need them to.

But Tristan Bacon, to have the camp that, that he had, um, I think speaks volumes again to, to AJ Cooper, and then also just kind of the recruiting aspect of it, right? Tristan Bacon, somebody, um, that had committed to Arizona State and has just kind of embraced the process, um, that some of these linebackers have, have gone through in Tempe, sitting and waiting their turn behind some guys like a Keshon Elliott and a Jordan Crook, and now getting to the point where you can break out and have a really good fall camp to where now Tristan Bacon will be in the too deep in my mind.

He, he will be a key player on special teams for the Sun Devils.

Um, so I, I would say the, the linebackers was certainly something that almost exceeded my expectations, if that was even possible.