University of Delaware Athletics
Photo by: Ryan Griffith
Comfort Level Rises For Versatile Freshman Jourdan Townsend
11/7/2019 10:14:00 AM | Football
On the very first punt return attempt in his first collegiate football game, the nightmare scenario unfolded for freshman Jourdan Townsend: he muffed the punt, allowing Delaware State to recover the ball on the Blue Hens 30-yard line.
Danny Rocco and his coaching staff could have easily justified pulling him from return duty, replacing him with a more veteran player. But Townsend had established himself as the team's top returner in camp and the staff had confidence in the young player.
The next punt return opportunity came in the second quarter, and Townsend redeemed himself immediately by returning the kick 47 yards back into Delaware State territory, setting up a 24-yard touchdown pass to Owen Tyler that put the Blue Hens in control for the rest of the game.
"When I dropped it, I got to the sideline and everybody was just trying to keep my head up. I was pretty frustrated with myself," Townsend said. "I went back out there and caught the ball, and I just saw a bunch of open grass. It really felt like high school again. It kind of just clicked for me."
The vote of confidence from the coaches has helped Townsend to develop into a Swiss army knife for the Blue Hens on both offense and special teams. Through nine games, Townsend is fourth on the team with 515 all-purpose yards (290 kick return yards, 121 receiving yards, 100 punt return yards and four rushing yards), and is the only Blue Hen with yardage in four different categories.
Townsend grew up in Farrell, a tiny steel town in western Pennsylvania where his dad was a football coach and his high school graduating class had all of 38 people in it. As a child, he would watch the high school players that his dad coached catch punts in practice and try to mimic the drill by throwing the ball up to himself to catch. By the end of elementary school, he was catching punts in youth games and has been doing so ever since.
Being from such a small town, Townsend naturally grew close to the kids he grew up with. The group of friends that would play tackle football in the streets together would soon become teammates for Farrell High School. The Steelers only lost nine games in Townsend's high school career, including an undefeated run to the state championship his senior season.
In Townsend's fifth collegiate game, Delaware traveled to Pittsburgh to take on the ACC's Pitt at Heinz Field, roughly 70 miles south of Farrell. To that point, Townsend had only seen time as a returner for the Blue Hens. But playing in an NFL stadium in front of friends and family, lined up against his high school teammate Kyi Wright (a freshman tight end for Pitt), he caught the first touchdown of his collegiate career.
With the Blue Hens deep into the red zone, Townsend lost his man on an out route to the corner of the end zone, and dove to reel in a pass from Nolan Henderson while keeping both feet in bounds. The touchdown gave Delaware a 14-10 third-quarter lead over the Panthers.
"That was probably one of the coolest moments that I've had in football, honestly," Townsend said. "Playing against one of my best friends from high school, it was just crazy to do in front of all my family, it meant so much."
With impressive ball skills and speed, the Blue Hens can use Townsend in a number of ways. Against Richmond, he ran the ball out of the backfield on jet sweeps, and against Towson he had a breakout receiving day, totaling a career-high 71 yards.
The freshman receiver tied the game at 7-7 in the first quarter against the Tigers, losing a defender on a slant route and walking into the end zone. In the second half, he caught a 54-yard bomb from Henderson on a play action look that would eventually set up a Will Knight touchdown.
"He's one of those guys that early on we really thought would have a chance to play this year," Rocco said. "He's got a bright future and I think you're going to get to see him doing more and more as the season progresses."
Townsend is a part of a young receiving corps that is coming into its own this season, with room still to grow. Gene Coleman II and Chichi Amachi are juniors, while Thyrick Pitts, the team's leader in receptions and yards, is just a redshirt sophomore.
As he gets more games under his belt, Townsend's comfort level in the college game increases.
"The more success you have, the more confidence you have," Delaware wide receivers coach Alex Wood said. "He's had some success. He's at that stage where he will continue to grow."
Danny Rocco and his coaching staff could have easily justified pulling him from return duty, replacing him with a more veteran player. But Townsend had established himself as the team's top returner in camp and the staff had confidence in the young player.
The next punt return opportunity came in the second quarter, and Townsend redeemed himself immediately by returning the kick 47 yards back into Delaware State territory, setting up a 24-yard touchdown pass to Owen Tyler that put the Blue Hens in control for the rest of the game.
"When I dropped it, I got to the sideline and everybody was just trying to keep my head up. I was pretty frustrated with myself," Townsend said. "I went back out there and caught the ball, and I just saw a bunch of open grass. It really felt like high school again. It kind of just clicked for me."
The vote of confidence from the coaches has helped Townsend to develop into a Swiss army knife for the Blue Hens on both offense and special teams. Through nine games, Townsend is fourth on the team with 515 all-purpose yards (290 kick return yards, 121 receiving yards, 100 punt return yards and four rushing yards), and is the only Blue Hen with yardage in four different categories.Townsend grew up in Farrell, a tiny steel town in western Pennsylvania where his dad was a football coach and his high school graduating class had all of 38 people in it. As a child, he would watch the high school players that his dad coached catch punts in practice and try to mimic the drill by throwing the ball up to himself to catch. By the end of elementary school, he was catching punts in youth games and has been doing so ever since.
Being from such a small town, Townsend naturally grew close to the kids he grew up with. The group of friends that would play tackle football in the streets together would soon become teammates for Farrell High School. The Steelers only lost nine games in Townsend's high school career, including an undefeated run to the state championship his senior season.
In Townsend's fifth collegiate game, Delaware traveled to Pittsburgh to take on the ACC's Pitt at Heinz Field, roughly 70 miles south of Farrell. To that point, Townsend had only seen time as a returner for the Blue Hens. But playing in an NFL stadium in front of friends and family, lined up against his high school teammate Kyi Wright (a freshman tight end for Pitt), he caught the first touchdown of his collegiate career.
With the Blue Hens deep into the red zone, Townsend lost his man on an out route to the corner of the end zone, and dove to reel in a pass from Nolan Henderson while keeping both feet in bounds. The touchdown gave Delaware a 14-10 third-quarter lead over the Panthers.
"That was probably one of the coolest moments that I've had in football, honestly," Townsend said. "Playing against one of my best friends from high school, it was just crazy to do in front of all my family, it meant so much."
With impressive ball skills and speed, the Blue Hens can use Townsend in a number of ways. Against Richmond, he ran the ball out of the backfield on jet sweeps, and against Towson he had a breakout receiving day, totaling a career-high 71 yards.The freshman receiver tied the game at 7-7 in the first quarter against the Tigers, losing a defender on a slant route and walking into the end zone. In the second half, he caught a 54-yard bomb from Henderson on a play action look that would eventually set up a Will Knight touchdown.
"He's one of those guys that early on we really thought would have a chance to play this year," Rocco said. "He's got a bright future and I think you're going to get to see him doing more and more as the season progresses."
Townsend is a part of a young receiving corps that is coming into its own this season, with room still to grow. Gene Coleman II and Chichi Amachi are juniors, while Thyrick Pitts, the team's leader in receptions and yards, is just a redshirt sophomore.
As he gets more games under his belt, Townsend's comfort level in the college game increases.
"The more success you have, the more confidence you have," Delaware wide receivers coach Alex Wood said. "He's had some success. He's at that stage where he will continue to grow."
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