Black turned down Texas to come north and win with the Irish
By CHRIS FEDERICO
Sports Editor
When Texas native Jordan Black turned down offers to play college football for in-state giants Texas and Texas A&M, and instead selected to head north of the Mason-Dixon line to play for Notre Dame, he expected to be a part of many great teams for the Irish.
He didn't expect it to take four years to develop.
"I didn't expect to have any losing seasons coming to Notre Dame," Black said. "I expected to win a national championship. I thought that was very possible with the recruiting class that I was in."
But four years after stepping onto campus, the senior offensive tackle knew he couldn't leave South Bend — knew he couldn't leave one of the greatest college football programs of all time — without leaving a mark.
"Everybody has a goal of winning a national championship, or as in my case, to just be a part of a winning team," Black said. "Last year, we didn't do so hot, and I didn't want to end on that note. So I came back."
Black decided to take advantage of his fifth year of eligibility and returned for one last run with the Irish.
Now, 10 games into a dream season, the fifth-year senior and the rest of his classmates finally have their chance to contribute to Irish lore. They have a chance to go down in history as another great Notre Dame team.
"If we win out and win a bowl game, this is going to be one of the great teams in Notre Dame history," Black said with proud certainty. "We're one game short of being able to play in the national championship. I think this is going to be remembered just like the '93 team. We had the one bad game against Boston College, but other than that, this team will be considered a very special team."
The player
Few teams have the luxury of seeing five seniors start on the offensive line. But if the Irish line is experienced, Black is a grizzled veteran. Entering this season, Black ranked 13th in the nation in starts by a lineman with 32, and he is now up to 42.
Over that span, Black can see how much he has matured and grown as a lineman from the time of his first start as a sophomore in the first game of the1999 season against Kansas.
"It's night and day. If you go back to my sophomore year, you can tell that I'm a kid," Black said. "It's funny to go back and look at. But I think now, it's pretty obvious that I've got some games under my belt, and I've just got a better feel for the game. I think you can just see more maturity in the way that I play."
Now Black is one of the dominant tackles in the game, using a combination of talent and experience to lead the Irish line.
"I think Jordan — physical-skill wise — is as gifted as anybody I've ever worked with," Irish offensive line coach Mike Denbrock said. "But he's also a smart football player."
Black uses what he's learned from his four years as a starter, and brings it with him to every game. Some of the coaches relate it to having another coach out on the field during a game.
"He understands the game, does a good job of communicating with me on the sidelines about the kind of things that are happening while they're out there on the field," Denbrock said. "A lot of that is him having the opportunity to play so much and having the game experience that he does have. But a lot of it, too, is instinctive, and it's just something that he brings to the table."
The leader
Even a squad that starts five seniors along the offensive line needs someone to look to for leadership. While its nice to have the wisdom of being with a team for four years, age can mean very little without playing experience.
"Game experience is invaluable. There's no substitute for it," Denbrock said.
In that respect, Black has been the pace-setter for the Irish, starting in almost every game during his career, a near unimaginable feat for a position that receives so much wear-and-tear. After sitting out his entire freshman year, Black started every game but two. He missed two games at the end of his sophomore season when he suffered a torn medial collateral ligament in his right knee.
Now, in his fourth year as a starter, Black tries to share everything that he's learned from 42 games on the gridiron.
"Leadership-wise, I think he's somebody that the guys on our team really look to and try to be like, not only in the way that he approaches the game, but in the way he studies it and prepares himself to be ready every week," Denbrock said.
Even though many of those players he has been expected to lead are peers and classmates, Black has had no problem accepting that role.
"Regardless of whether they look to me for leadership or not, it's my responsibility to demonstrate leadership — hopefully, I do that," Black said. "But a the same time … we're all old and experienced guys, and it's just fun to go out there and play with a group that's so close."
The Texan
As one of the top offensive linemen in the nation coming out of Dallas Christian High School, it seemed almost automatic that Black would stay in state and become an Aggie or Longhorn. So Black committed Texas football suicide when he pulled the wool over the eyes of Texas and headed north for Notre Dame.
It's hardly acceptable when Texas players leave for the SEC or other Big XII schools, so it's equitable with treason when one leaves to play for a northern school.
"A lot of people were unhappy — especially in the media — when I decided to go to Notre Dame," Black said. "Everybody thinks, `Jordan Black, he's a traitor.' But at the time I wasn't really impressed with Texas or Texas A&M."
Black eluded the lure of the then newly-hired Texas coach Mack Brown, who is often considered the top recruiter in college football.
"Mack Brown, though, when he got hired, he almost talked me into going [to Texas]," Black said. "But Notre Dame was too big of a deal to pass up, so that's why I came here."
For four years, all those nay-sayers and second-guessers had been able to criticize Black for leaving his home state behind. But now, as the Irish sit at No. 8 in the nation, just two wins away from a BCS bowl berth and a few strategic losses by the right teams away from the national championship game, Black knows it was the right decision.
"I'm happy about what we've accomplished this year," he said. "I couldn't ask for anything more."
And it's no surprise Black already has one team he'd love to play in a bowl game.
"Oh man, that's got to be Texas," he quickly responds with a devilish grin. "I would love to play them."
The end
After four seasons of disappointment in which Black witnessed the Irish go a combined 28-19, including two losing seasons, the 41-9 debacle in the 2001 Fiesta Bowl and the program's first 0-3 start last season, he is finally enjoying the type of season for which he told all those Texas coaches to keep their scholarships.
"We had a couple of bad years," Black said. "We did make it to the Fiesta Bowl, but in retrospect that was kind of an embarrassment what happened to us there. But considering how this year has been, it's been totally worth it."
And now, Black and his Irish teammates — especially those senior classmates that have seen the worst days — are basking in the good times. After four years that seemed to last an eternity, he can't make this final one last long enough.
"It's unbelievable, coming back from the Florida State game at the airport, there's people waiting there to cheer us on," Black said. "There's 500 people waiting at the stadium for us when we get back. That's just something I haven't experienced. I'm trying to just soak up as much as I can before I leave here."
All Sports Stories for Friday, November 22, 2002
