The ball holds it all for Addison, a humble, quiet playmaker who could become a first-round NFL pick

Apr. 26—For Jordan Addison, everything begins with a football in his hands.

That's when he is at the height of his powers.

Up until that moment, the Tuscarora High School graduate and soon-to-be NFL wide receiver can be easy to overlook. He's a quiet, humble, leader-by-example who largely conducts his life away from a spotlight, which seems to be his preference. His mother, Keisha Blackman, said he has always been "laid-back, calm, chill."

He's not physically imposing either at 5-foot-11 and 173 pounds.

But put a ball in his hands and it's hard to take your eyes off him. The spotlight just naturally finds him.

All of a sudden, he's his favorite superhero, The Flash, darting through defenses with his impeccable route running, making game-changing plays with his natural athleticism and reliable hands.

This is the sort of attention that Addison has always welcomed with open arms, and, as he prepares to walk across the gigantic NFL draft stage Thursday night in Kansas City and greet Commissioner Roger Goodell on national television as a potential first-round pick, it's what fuels the raging fire within.

"It's just a rush you can't explain," the 21-year-old Addison said in a recent phone interview. "You get in the end zone and all the eyes are on you. Everybody is watching you do your thing. It's a rush that you get, that rush you always want to keep a hold of it. That's why I want to try and score as many touchdowns as I can."

A star is bornAddison's football career began a little before it should have — he was just below the minimum age limit of 5, but the league commissioner and his mother succumbed to his begging — and with nobody really ready for him.

He played an unceremonious position, tight end, for a supremely talented Montgomery Village Chiefs team in the Gaithersburg area.

Maryland receiver Kaden Prather and Penn State defensive end Demeioun Robinson, a former Terrapin, were on the roster, as well as 12 to 15 players who made their way to Division I or Division II schools, including Addison (Pitt, USC), according to coach Rob Robinson.

And, in the years leading up to Addison's arrival, current NFL stars Stefon and Trevon Diggs played in the Montgomery Village organization.

True to nature, Addison didn't say a whole lot during practices and games. But, sure enough, every time the Chiefs put a ball in his hands, he made something happen.

The Chiefs would run a reverse with the tight end, and it would result in a touchdown virtually every time.

As he watched all of this unfold, a few things became very clear to Robinson.

One was that Addison was destined to be a Division I college player. "I wasn't sure about the NFL," Robinson said. But the talent was that apparent.

The other was that Addison needed to play a more integral position than tight end on a youth football team that didn't have much of a passing game.

As the team's top offensive playmaker, Addison needed to be the team's quarterback and have the ball in his hands on every play.

"Youth league is simple," Robinson said. "Your best athlete plays quarterback."

Naturally, the Chiefs won a lot of games with Addison at quarterback. He was a touchdown waiting to happen on just about every play. On two occasions, Addison led the Chiefs to the American Youth Football national championships in Florida, where they finished as high as fourth.

"His vision is off the charts," Chiefs coach Quintin Cosby said. "He is so quick-twitch that he's able to operate in tight spaces, like a running back. He's a receiver that plays like a running back."

Though he was not vocal, Addison commanded fierce respect and loyalty from his teammates. He was the Chiefs' unquestioned leader.

When there was talk of some of the players breaking away from Montgomery Village and playing elsewhere, Addison chose to stay with the organization and prevented it from splintering.

"Those 10- and 11-year-old kids would run through a wall for him," Robinson said. "They said we are not playing without him."

Find his positionAddison's path to the NFL could have taken a much different trajectory.

At the tail end of his Montgomery Village days and at Tuscarora High School, he was an outstanding defensive back, capable of shutting down the opposing team's best receiver or changing the direction of a game with a timely interception.

During the college recruitment process, some of the 20-plus major conference schools that were after him were looking at him as a cornerback more than a receiver.

But accepting an offer from one of those schools meant Addison was going to have to give up the one thing he cherished the most — the ball.

"I could have [played defensive back] if I chose that route," he said over the phone. "I chose to have the ball in my hands."

He said he liked playing defense, but "it was just more fun to me on the offensive side."

Through his participation in a youth football camp, Addison met the receivers coach at the University of Maryland at the time, Chris Beatty, and established a quick rapport with him.

When Beatty moved on to take the same position at the University of Pittsburgh under head coach Pat Narduzzi, that gave the Panthers the inside track on landing Addison. Plus, they were interested in him as a receiver, not a defensive back.

Vince Ahearn, Addison's coach at Tuscarora, explained to the News-Post in January 2021 that Beatty understood Addison's talent right away.

In two seasons at Pitt, Addison caught 160 passes for 2,259 yards and 21 touchdowns. During the 2021 season, he caught a school-record 100 passes for 1,593 yards and a nation-leading 17 touchdowns and was named the Biletnikoff Award winner as the top receiver in college football. He helped Pitt win the Atlantic Coast Conference title in the process.

But following that season at Pitt, Addison lost his offensive coordinator, Mark Whipple, his receivers coach, Brennan Marion, who had taken over for Beatty, who left for the same position in the NFL with the Los Angeles Chargers, and his quarterback, Kenny Pickett, the Heisman Trophy finalist who was drafted in the first round by the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Addison felt there was a better opportunity and a better quarterback, his old Maryland/D.C. football acquaintance Caleb Williams, waiting for him at the University of Southern California. So he transferred.

The move paid dividends. In 11 games for the Trojans, Addison had 59 receptions and scored eight touchdowns, setting the stage for him to be a first-round pick in the NFL Draft and Williams to win the highest honor in college football, the Heisman Trophy.

"Once I finally got the [choice] to do what I wanted to do, I played receiver," Addison said over the phone. "Receiver was going to be the best [path] for me going pro with my natural hands and my speed. Everything that a receiver requires, I already naturally had."

A dream come trueWhen he was 8 years old, Addison was hopping around the family Super Bowl party, telling his mother, "I am going to go to the NFL ... and I am going to do this and I am going to do that."

Without a hint of sarcasm and with no desire to placate or deter her son, Keisha responded, "Yes, you are."

Now the dream is about to become reality.

On Tuesday, Addison and Blackman touched down in Kansas City, Missouri, site of the draft.

He was one of 17 draft prospects invited to attend the draft by the NFL, and Blackman will be with him in the green room when his name is called.

She said the entire process has been very emotional, and it figures to be even more so on Thursday.

When Addison was invited to attend the draft, there was never a doubt he was going to accept it, even though it carries some risk.

He is projected to be a mid to late first-round pick, and if that's where he taken, he will look like an absolute star.

But, of course, there are no guarantees. And should he, for whatever reason, fall out of the first round, he could be left to wait and wonder in front of millions of people on national TV.

The thought of that didn't bother him or even cross his mind.

"He really wanted to go when we got the invitation," his mother said. "We haven't really discussed that. I think he is quite comfortable and quite confident with where he stands in the process."

Even without a ball in his hands.

Follow Greg Swatek on Twitter: @greg_swatek