Jefferson Somerset athlete signs intent
to play for a Florida university
Ashley Hunter
ECB Publishing, Inc.
Surrounded by his Class of 2020 classmates as well as many of the young athletes who comprised his team of Jefferson Somerset Tigers, Jordan Elliot publicly signed a letter of intent to play for the Florida Memorial University on Wednesday, Dec. 18.
Held in the Jefferson Somerset media center, Elliot’s ceremony filled the room as fellow athletes and students, coaches, school administrators and teachers gathered in order to congratulate Elliot on his future journey.
Throughout the last year, Elliot has been a crucial member of the Tiger football team and helped lead his fellow athletes both on and off the field.
Coach Norris provided a brief look at Elliot’s past year with the Jefferson Tigers, making special note on how this had been Elliot’s first year playing football and studying under the Tiger banner.
Norris proudly noted that Elliot was always the ‘first guy on the practice field’ every day after school and remained to encourage and lead teammates, despite his newness to the school and its team.
“That speaks a lot on his character,” said Coach Norris.
Despite being new to Jefferson Somerset as of this past year, Elliot was no newcomer to football and already had a deep understanding of the game from playing with previous schools. That experience helped hone his leadership skills on the field and, as Interim Head Coach Rodell Thomas noted, Elliot became “a great leader,” during the football season.
According to Jefferson Somerset Athletic Director, 1st Sgt. Terry Walker, the signing ceremony marks a special moment for Jefferson County’s public school system as well, as Elliot will be the fourth quarterback which the school has signed in recent years.
Elliot, who played as a quarterback during the 2019 football season, is following in the ranks of Lenorris Footman, Jayshawn Francis and Joshua Aikens.
Elliot’s signing comes at the end of a difficult football season for the Jefferson Somerset Tigers, but Principal Cory Oliver reflected back on the successes of Elliot’s team, rather than their pitfalls.
“Jordan had a difficult task this year,” said Oliver, noting that the entire team had a tough task on overcoming the field and the difficulty of starting the season after losing their head coach. “You played five state champions and five runner-ups. It was a lot of work and there was a lot you had to do in order to be successful.”
Oliver remarked proudly on the team’s accomplishments, however, and encouraged Elliot to continue growing and pushing for future success.
“This cannot be your defining moment,” Oliver urged, pressing Elliot to keep running towards success both academically as well as athletically. “Keep pushing yourself to do better academically. You’ve got to push yourself to never stop learning, never stop questioning things and never stop searching for that knowledge.”
“There are plenty of athletes in this country willing to play at the next level. In order to be successful at the next levels, there’s got to be self-discipline...constantly keep pushing yourself academically,” Oliver continued. “I think you are a shining example for all our athletes.”
Interim Head Coach Rodell Thomas also spoke uplifting words to Elliot as well as the gathered Tiger team on a whole.
“You cannot let anyone else define you - you define yourself,” Coach Rodell prompted, urging Elliot to make his own path in life as well as in his future college athletic career. “You make yourself. Don’t let anyone tell you what you can’t do, you can do whatever you going to do with the strength of God.”
Continuing to provide uplifting and encouraging words, Coach Norris recalled Elliot’s football season over the last year.
“You go through so much adversity in football, and that’s relatable to life. In football, you get knocked down and you gotta get right back up.” Jordan, Norris said, got knocked down at each game, “and he got right back up.”
After each coach had their opportunity to speak, Elliot’s mother and grandparents - all beaming with pride - were given the chance to speak.
Alicia Ouelette, Elliot’s mother, remarked with great pride on her son’s journey of sportsmanship and accomplish, concluding with a warm: “I’m just so proud of how far you have come as a person.”
Keith Ouelette, Elliot’s grandfather, had words of thanks to the school staff, classmates and teammates who had rallied around his grandson - a new student - during the former year.
“Jordan had a lot of great teammates to support him throughout this year...they held together,” said Keith Ouelette.
Elliot’s grandmother, Janet Ouelette, provided a sweet thank-you to the school body as well.
“He (Jordan Elliot) went through some tough years. We were moving around and he just wanted to play...then he came here,” said Janet. Jefferson, she added, “was the best move” that her grandson could have made. “Everybody, his teachers, coaches and teammates, have made this the best year.”
His family’s sentiments were echoed in Elliot’s own speech to his gathered coaches, teachers, classmates and teammates.
“It was definitely a fun year,” Elliot began. “I have to thank all of my success to everybody else. I could not have done it without the other players on the field with me at the time. This is not just my success, it’s our success as well.”
Even though the team’s win/loss record might not reflect it, Elliot said that he felt proud of the Tigers’ 2019 football season. “We actually great did a great job this season, and I’m proud of everybody.”
With a new adventure and task ahead of him, Elliot’s coaches imparted well-wishes for his upcoming collegiate career.
“I rejoice with you, we all do,” said Athletic Director Sgt. Walker. “It’s been an honor for us to be a part of this.”
“You’re not in high school anymore, you’ve got to think like a college athlete,” concluded Coach Norris. “This is only the beginning.”
Following his graduation from Jefferson Somerset, Tiger Jordan Elliot will be playing football as a Lion at the Florida Memorial University, which is located in Miami Gardens, Fla.