Meet Rivals300 Michigan DB commit Jordan Deck, a community leader and future team captain

Temperatures in the Dallas-Fort Worth area can often reach more than 100 degrees in August. The scorching heat, however, doesn’t stop Rivals300 Michigan safety commit Jordan Deck from cleaning some things up a week before fall camp opens.

Yes, Deck did work all offseason with private coach Shaun Graham. He sharpened his back pedal, looked more comfortable in his movements and continued to improve his overall technique.

But that’s not the kind of cleaning up we’re talking about.

Deck was literally picking up trash on the side of the road. Community is everything to Deck. When he’s not putting in work on the field, Deck finds ways to support others around him. It’s no surprise he was voted a team captain as a junior at Texas powerhouse Frisco Lone Star.

“I know you have to put in a lot off the field to get rewards on the field,” Deck said. “I’m always going to do what I need to do for football, but I’m also going to be a good person around the community. My mom has always instilled that in me, and I value that first. I just want to be a good person.”

The phrase ‘Michigan Kid’ gets thrown around often without much of an explanation. In layman’s terms, it means a future Michigan Man — someone who excels in a winged helmet, in the classroom and in the community. Deck fits that description to a tee.

Unsurprisingly, Michigan had the early lead in Deck’s recruitment. A commitment was expected by the end of the summer before his process took a turn.

Deck made an official visit to home state program Baylor and gave the Bears a verbal pledge less than 48 hours later.

“I tried to let him make his decision, and I think it was a little hasty,” said Deck’s mother, Naimah Tate. “He saw everyone committing and things like that. Baylor was up there as well. We had a good relationship with them, too. It’s going to sound crazy, but even when he committed to Baylor, I felt like he would end up at Michigan. (U-M assistant) Coach (LaMar) Morgan told me he would keep coming for him. I knew he was going to come through, and it was going to work out.”

It did.

Deck immediately started second guessing his decision. He kept in contact with Michigan secondary coach LaMar Morgan and continued to listen to his heart.

Ultimately, all roads led to Michigan, and he flipped his commitment just three weeks later.

“When I dropped my Top 5, Michigan was my No. 1 school,” Deck said. “That’s where I knew I wanted to be deep down. When I committed to Baylor, it was a quick decision that I didn’t really think through. It was two days after the visit. I just wasn’t patient enough. Coach LaMar Morgan kept recruiting me. We got some things worked out, and I made my decision. I felt like it was the right decision for me and my future. It just made sense. I acted on it. It’s a blessing.

“The people made the decision easier — Coach Morgan, Coach (Sherrone) Moore and Coach (JB) Brown,” Deck said. “They made me feel comfortable. It was like ‘we got you.’ I feel like it’s a partnership.”

Tate felt the same way.

“Michigan offered early, and they really built that relationship with him and with me as well,” Tate said. “When we got there, it felt like a continuation of what we had been building. It felt like home. They have a couple coaches from here (Texas). As a parent, I was looking for a program that’s like his high school program — one that is strict, is going to make him work hard and is going to teach him discipline in football and in life. I know he’s going to do his thing in football, but I also care about what he’s going to become after he graduates. I was sold from the beginning.

“Of course, Coach Morgan did a great job. He believes in Jordan. He believes in his ability. He believes in him as a person. He showed us what he liked about Jordan, how he would fit in and what he could work on. I really liked that. That relationship they have is what I was really looking for as a parent. He makes it feel like he cares about Jordan as more than just a football player.”  

Deck is set to graduate in December and will enroll early. He fills a big need for Michigan on the back end thanks to his height, length and physicality. Deck has been a constant producer against top-level competition at Lone Star, but he has plenty of upside, too.

In fact, Deck is relatively new to the secondary. He spent his little league years playing quarterback and tight end before moving over to wide receiver. Deck didn’t make the transition to safety until his sophomore season.

“I’m actually still finding myself as a defensive back,” Deck said. “The sky is the limit for my game since I just started playing defense. Playing wide receiver helped with the instincts and obviously the ball skills.”

Deck found instant success on the defensive side of the ball, earning Texas District 6-5A D-I Defensive Newcomer of the Year after posting 75 tackles, five interceptions and 10 pass breakups. Teams quickly learned who Deck was and started avoiding him the following season.

Now a senior, Deck is off to a strong start to his final year of high school football. He took a step forward in his game thanks to his training with Graham, earning a bump in the most recent Rivals rankings release.

“Jordan is a natural athlete when it comes to going and getting the ball,” Graham said. “We didn’t see that as much his junior year as we did his sophomore year. But that was because he was transitioning to being a hard-hitting safety who can come into the box. Jordan just has a natural ability to find the ball, track the ball and create turnovers. He has the length and size. He can cover a lot of ground. He can play wherever (Michigan) needs him.

“If you have a guy who can only play high, you can move Jordan down. If you have a guy who can only play down, you can move Jordan high. He has the length and can cover a lot of ground. His versatility is going to fit in well at Michigan.”

So is his attitude.

When asked about his goals for his time in Ann Arbor, Deck smiled and quipped, ‘team captain.’

“I’m going to do whatever I can to make that happen,” Deck said. “Michigan is such a great program. To have people looking up to me and wanting to be led by me is really a dream. When I get there, I want to work as hard as I can to see the field. After that, I want to work to encourage others and lift up the team. It’s all about winning games.”