Jordan McKenzie’s highlights during his senior year have certainly caught our eye. One week he is making impressive high-pointed catches with the defender all over him, and the next week he is on defense delivering bigger hits than Kanye’s new album.
It was last week’s game against Dublin where McKenzie was lined up on the edge. A quick toss to his side of the field and the adept senior broke on the ball carrier and slammed him into the ground with the biggest hit of Week 7.
The Hawkinsville community came up big in our weekly vote for the top play, and the 2022 athlete finished 2nd, but also, earned the 2nd most votes of any athlete this season. So big ups to the Hawkinsville community for showing support.
The senior has clearly improved his game from junior year, and McKenzie confirmed as much. “The most I improved from last year is my tackling skills and my receiver skills.”
His film confirms just that. McKenzie is making explosive plays on either side of the ball and having a huge impact on his team. He has excellent football instincts reading the play and being in the right spot, which leads to some fortuitous turnovers for him.
The senior has been proactive in getting his film out in front of college coaches, and relatively, feels like his recruitment is headed in the right direction. Unfortunately, no new teams have jumped into the picture this fall, but we feel his midseason film pinned at the top of the page here should help turn the tide and stimulate some additional college interest.
“My recruitment has been going alright; I’ve been trying to reach out to coaches and sharing film with them to view,” McKenzie said.
For Jordan McKenzie, he models his game after someone very close to him. “I model my game after my dad because on offense he played receiver, and on defense, he was a head hunter – he won the headhunter award in high school.”
The apple has not fallen very far from the tree. McKenzie might just be 5’10” and 161 lbs., but he certainly tackles above his weight and then some. He is fearless showing no slow-down before impact; that is the kind of mindset that really cannot be taught either. McKenzie’s also has very good ball skills and coordination adapting to the football midflight, making him a tough matchup on deep passes.
Playing safety at the next level seems like an obvious position for McKenzie considering his skill set. He should continue to fill out and be around 175, give or take 5 lbs. We are a really big fan of his senior film, if you haven’t noticed yet, and think that McKenzie should be absolutely attracting the attention of DII programs bare minimum. His consistent open-field tackling is rock solid, plus he’s adept at getting off blocks and gets low on his tackle attempts.
McKenzie is focused on finishing off his senior by continuing to get the attention of college programs. “My goals for the 2nd half of the season is to get recruited by coaches and new teams.”
If he continues to makes plays as he has in the first half of the season, then his recruitment expanding is inedible. McKenzie plays with an obvious passion for the game, and his physical nature, as showcased in last week’s demolition of a tackle against Dublin, should allow him to create chaos as a defensive back in college. We’ll be keeping track of his recruitment for the final stretch of the recruiting cycle, so be sure to follow @RecruitGeorgia on Twitter to hear more about the Hawkinsville senior and the rest of the recruits across the state of Georgia.
