Who needs coffee in the morning when you have Trigonometry and Physics to get you going? Second thought. Don’t answer that. Unless your name is Jordan Sherit.
This Defensive End/Tight End from Hillsborough High School checks-in at 6’4″ 225lbs. yet is only a Sophomore. He’s also fresh off a season in which he started every game along side the likes of Earl Moore and Reggie Johnson. Guys that he looks to as mentors, teammates, and friends. Sherit accrued 39 tackles on the year for the Big Red and helped the Terriers finish the regular season winning four of five, as well as avenging a loss to Largo from the previous year before bowing out to Armwood. His best game came against rivals Tampa Bay Tech with 11 tackles.
All of this success early doesn’t appear to be diminishing his focus and preparation both on and off the field. Jordan has already turned the page of the 2010 Season and is ready to help his teammates accomplish even greater things this year. “We could put up some impressive results on our schedule,” said Sherit reflecting on the potential for this Fall coupled with the reality that many key players are returning on both sides of the ball for the Terriers. Hillsborough is slated to face one of the toughest districts in the entire state with defending 3A Champions Jefferson, as well as 4A Finalists Armwood.
Still, he and his teammates are keeping everything in perspective. “Right now it’s about putting in the work in the weight room, and conditioning.” Perspective is also something Jordan is getting in his foundation at home. “In my house, you can’t play football if the grades aren’t there. Simple as that.”
Another area where Jordan is “doing work” is in the classroom. He is a member of the International Baccalaureate Program (IB) and currently his G.P.A. (weighted) is at 4.7 which is turning the heads of some of the Ivy League institutions such as Penn, and Princeton. Sherit has also received quite a bit of mail from the University of South Carolina in addition to campus invites from the University of Notre Dame and the University of Florida.
His two favorite subjects are Trig and Physics, but not for the conventional reasons of wanting to be an architect or engineer. “I really like those two classes (especially in the morning) because they make you think. It really gets you going. It’s not like having to watch a video and react to it or something like that.” Something tells me that this young man (who admittedly grew up a ‘Canes Fan) might find himself on the other side of another guy from Hillsborough County in the coming years. For now, he’s happy to be on Central Avenue.
“It’s a big deal putting on the red-on-red and stepping out in front of those fans on Friday Nights.” You’re right. It is a big deal. Literally and figuratively. Well played Mr. Sherit. Well played.