Before he starts a new chapter in his football career, Ethan Jordan returned to where his story began.<\/p>\n
Published Dec 08, 2025 \u00a0\u2022\u00a0 4 minute read<\/p>\n
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Hec Crighton Trophy winner Ethan Jordan hosts a football skills clinic Sunday at Chatham-Kent Secondary School. (Mark Malone\/Chatham Daily News)Article content<\/p>\n
Before he starts a new chapter in his football career, Ethan Jordan returned to where his story began.<\/p>\n
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The Ottawa Redblacks receiver came back Sunday to Chatham-Kent secondary school to host a skills clinic with fellow Hec Crighton Trophy winner Taylor Elgersma.<\/p>\n
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Jordan, 23, capped his record-setting career at Laurier last month by being named the U Sports football player of the year.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m super grateful for my time at Laurier,\u201d the Chatham native said. \u201cIt\u2019s tough to walk away. It\u2019s tough to say goodbye, but it\u2019s time. I\u2019m ready for the next chapter, ready to move on and start a career.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jordan already has signed a rookie contract with the Redblacks, who chose him in the sixth round of the 2025 CFL draft.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt gets me back in the door,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m officially back on the team, so I\u2019m very excited.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jordan dressed for two games in the CFL pre-season and played in one before returning to Laurier.<\/p>\n
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He\u2019s eager to show how much he\u2019s improved when training camp starts in May.<\/p>\n
\u201cGoing there the first time was my big learning curve,\u201d he said. \u201cI was able to learn so much in that time frame.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m excited. I\u2019m hungry. I want to prove to everybody that I can be in that league. Obviously, I had a good year (in U Sports) and I showed why I deserve to be in the league.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jordan said he\u2019s running routes better than a year ago. His football IQ improved, too, after his last year at Laurier.<\/p>\n
\u201cBeing there for my fifth year, things started to slow down,\u201d he said. \u201cI started to see defences better.\u201d<\/p>\n
The four-time all-Canadian led U Sports this season with a career-best 1,066 receiving yards. He made 68 catches, including 10 for touchdowns.<\/p>\n
Jordan owns the OUA career record with 239 catches and is second in OUA history with 3,458 receiving yards and 30 touchdown catches.<\/p>\n
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His quarterback until this season was Elgersma, the 2024 Hec Crighton Trophy winner.<\/p>\n
\u201cMe and EJ have always had a really special connection, ever since we came to school together,\u201d Elgersma said. \u201cWe were in the same recruiting class. When we stepped on campus, coach (Todd) Galloway came over to me and pointed at EJ and he said, \u2018That\u2019s going to be your guy for the next five years.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n
Jordan is a great receiver not only because of his skills. but also his mind, Elgersma said.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe\u2019s the fastest guy on the field at all times, he\u2019s more athletic and more agile than everyone, but he\u2019s a very smart receiver and he understands how to be quarterback-friendly,\u201d Elgersma said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s what makes him a good coach in these (clinic) settings as well. He understands the technical parts of the game, he understands how the game functions, how the game works and how to allow himself to show the quarterback that he\u2019s open.<\/p>\n
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\u201cHe does a really good job with that and that\u2019s what allowed him to get so many receptions \u2013 he broke the receptions record \u2013 and then the yards come from his athletic ability after he gets the ball in his hand. I think that\u2019s what makes him such a special receiver.\u201d<\/p>\n
Elgersma played for the Green Bay Packers in the NFL pre-season. Since then, he\u2019s had workout with the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers and has another coming up with the Chicago Bears.<\/p>\n
Jordan is preparing to rejoin the Redblacks while waiting for his broken wrist to heal. He was injured in his regular-season finale.<\/p>\n
He heard a few times during the season from Shawn Burke, the Redblacks\u2019 vice-president of football operations.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe just said, \u2018Hey, keep working, keep churning, we love to see it,\u2019 \u201d Jordan said. \u201cI had his support all the way through, which was nice.\u201d<\/p>\n
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He\u2019s grateful for all the love he\u2019s received from family, friends, fans and coaches in his career.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve had some time to reflect,\u201d he said. \u201cObviously I\u2019m just super grateful for all the success I\u2019ve had, the awards I\u2019ve had and just to be in this opportunity is a blessing.<\/p>\n
\u201cI tell people all the time, for you to win these awards, be an MVP, be a Hec (winner), a lot of things have to fall in line. You have to be on a winning team, you have to have production, you have to have a good quarterback, you have to have great coaches.\u201d<\/p>\n
He was happy to host Sunday\u2019s clinic and give back like his father, Chatham-Kent Cougars founder Sel Jordan.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt means so much,\u201d Ethan Jordan said. \u201cObviously, my dad has done so much for this community. That\u2019s something I\u2019ve noticed growing up and saw growing up. He inspired me to want to get into something like this: coach, pay it back to the kids.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was just blessed enough to be in a position where me and Taylor have enough credibility that people would want to come learn from us.\u201d<\/p>\n