Jordan Owens’ first Michie Stadium trip brings up fond memories.
Owens watched Army’s Darnell Woolfolk, his idol growing up in the Binghamton, N.Y. area, play Duke with the fullback’s family. He went to every one of Woolfolk games at Maine-Endwell High School.
A seventh-grader at the time, Owens posed for a photo with Woolfolk, who scored a touchdown in the game, and an unexpected snap shot of the future.
“I never pictured myself playing at West Point in my future,” Owens said.
Six years later, Owens returned to Michie Stadium as an Army recruit for the Georgia State on Oct. 10. Owens received initial interest from Army after a senior football year at Maine-Endwell. He had committed to East Coast Prep in Great Barrington, Mass. after tearing his anterior cruciate ligament 10 quarters of his final season.
Owens reached back out to Army assistant coach John Loose when he started at East Coast Prep. He let Loose know that Army was still one of his top choices. One week ago, almost one month after his game visit, Loose offered Owens a chance to play for Army. Owens called Loose with his commitment Friday night.
“I decided there was no place I’d rather be,” said Owens, who rushed for seven touchdowns, caught two receiving TDs and added a defensive score in two and half games his senior year at Maine-Endwell. “
Owens’ gameday visit made his decision easy.
“The facilities were unbelievable and the culture is just unmatched,” Owens said. “Meeting most of the coaches including coach (Jeff) Monken before the game was very impressive to me because most schools won’t take the time to have a conversation with their recruits when they have a game that day.”
Maybe, Woolfolk’s No, 33 will be available when Owens starts his Army career.
