How Jawhar Jordan, Maurice Turner went from deep in the depth chart to Louisville's stars

BOSTON — Jawhar Jordan walked softly into the postgame press conference and carried a big stick – or in this case, a silver baseball bat.

The Louisville running back rested the bat, given to the Fenway Bowl’s Offensive and Defensive MVPs, on his leg after scoring two of the team’s touchdowns and racking up 115 yards on nine carries in the 24-7 win Saturday over Ohio River rival Cincinnati at Fenway Park.

To interim head coach Deion Branch, Jordan's performance was no surprise.

“Jaws has been this guy all season,” Branch said.

Jordan’s first touchdown, a 49-yard run, was the first-ever in the inaugural Fenway Bowl and helped him average 12.8 yards per tote on the day.

“I'm excited, more excited for the team,” he said afterward. “We faced adversity, and we came out with the dub.”

Jordan’s bashful response doesn’t tell the whole story, though.

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Before former head coach Scott Satterfield left for Cincinnati and Jeff Brohm was named the Cardinals’ new head coach, and even prior to the team’s first four-game winning streak since 2016 – which included a win over a top-10 opponent in Wake Forest – Jordan and true freshman running back Maurice Turner, who lit up the stat sheet Saturday, were buried on the depth chart.

For much of the spring, offseason and fall camp, Louisville’s running backs room was widely considered to be one of the deepest and most talented position groups on the team. U of L didn’t name a starter – the preseason depth chart had Jalen Mitchell, Louisville’s 2021 starter, listed first followed by Trevion Cooley, then Jordan, then Tiyon Evans, all of whom had ‘or’ listed next to their names. Turner didn’t even make the depth chart.

Eventually, Evans, a transfer from Tennessee, earned the starting nod and Jordan was named the backup for the season opener against Syracuse. Mitchell and Cooley followed, with still no mention of Turner.

Three months later, Evans was preparing for the draft and Mitchell and Cooley had entered the transfer portal, while Jordan was starting in a bowl game and Turner had a career-high 160 yards on 31 carries in the win over Cincinnati.

“I spoke to the media earlier. They kept asking me about who I thought would step out of the shell,” Branch said. “Guess what? I said Maurice. You can see these things happen because these young guys work so hard.”

Jordan only had seven carries in the first two games of the season but worked his way into being a solid part of the team’s rotation. When Evans got hurt against Boston College, Jordan got the start the next week at Virginia and totaled 11 carries for 29 yards with a touchdown. With Evans out against in the regular season finale against Kentucky, the redshirt sophomore recorded a season-high 145 yards on 22 totes.

“I've seen what a lot of people in the media were saying about me. I've been counted out on the team as well,” Jordan said. “I just put my head down, started working hard and just waiting for my opportunity.”

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Turner’s progress was a little more gradual but still resulted in the same outcome of being an instrumental part of Louisville’s final game of the year.

The Georgia native didn’t play at all in the first two games of the year then didn’t record any stats in his collegiate debut against Florida State on Sept. 16. He had three yards on three carries against South Florida the next week but didn’t truly become much of a factor until the final three games of the regular season, when he compiled 128 yards on 24 carries against Clemson, NC State and in the Governor’s Cup.

Having a career day on Saturday was the perfect way to end Turner’s freshman year and one that neither he nor Jordan will be quick to forget. Jordan’s will always have his silver Offensive MVP bat to remind him, which he said he plans to store away safely.

“How crazy is this? Two guys that started the season four and five on our depth chart ended up being our main two guys at the end of the year,” Branch said. “That's trusting the process. That's what it is. When I speak to these young men, these guys will be the two main guys that I will speak about the most this spring when I get to my player development role.”

Reach Alexis Cubit at acubit@courier-journal.com

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville football: Jawhar Jordan, Maurice Turner star in Fenway Bowl