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Former college basketball player joining Tulsa Football as tight end

Jordan Rodriguez began playing football in January after transferring to Dodge City College.
Jordan Rodriguez began playing football in January after transferring to Dodge City College. (Twitter: @jordanrod_13)

This coming weekend, Tulsa Football will add an interesting player to its roster. Former Division II college basketball forward Jordan Rodriguez is set to join the Golden Hurricane as a tight end. And he’s only been playing football for eight months.

“I was actually playing college basketball a year ago and transferred to Dodge City Community College in January and started playing football for the first time,” he told Inside Tulsa Sports on Tuesday. “I was at a Division II school in Birmingham, Alabama, called the University of Montevallo. It was a pretty consistent top 25 program.

“I did not play football in high school either. I’ve been a huge football fan my whole life and thought I could use my size and skill set better for football. I think basketball helped me a lot though.”

Rodriguez redshirted as a true freshman at Montevallo, and then an injury kept him on the sideline again last season.

“I had ankle surgery, so I wasn’t able to play,” he explained.

Rodriguez went through spring practice at Dodge City and originally planned to play there this fall and then transfer to a D-1 school. However, after attending several summer prospects camps, coaches began pursuing him earlier than he expected.

“It was mainly Tulsa, Troy and South Florida,” said the 6-foot-6 and 235-pounder. “I’m pumped about heading down (to Tulsa). I went to camp this summer in July, and they really liked me and pulled the trigger (Tuesday) morning to get me there this fall.”

When Rodriguez will be eligible and how many years he’ll have left to play is still up in the air.

“It’s actually a little complicated since I was at a four-year school playing basketball,” he said. “I have to sit out 365 days until I’m eligible at another four-year, and since Tulsa is bringing me in early, I actually won’t be eligible to play until December. But I will have two definite seasons starting next season. I’m hoping in the future to get a third season back at Tulsa with a medical waiver.”

That likely means that Rodriguez will focus on improving his skills in practice this season in order to make an impact in 2019.

“I would say I have pretty good hands for a big guy, and my receiving ability overall (is a strength),” he said. “I’m definitely excited about continuing to work on my blocking. I enjoy the physicality that the game allows me compared to basketball.”

Rodriguez said he will move to Tulsa on Sunday, enroll in classes and get started on his football journey with the Golden Hurricane.

VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS OF JORDAN RODRIGUEZ:

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