WVU RB Commit Jordan Louie Kept Faith in Himself, Faith and Family

Football hasn’t always been easy for Jordan Louie, but keeping his faith has. He’s come a long, long way over the last year couple of years, and if he could talk to the boy who was discouraged and down on his luck, he knows exactly what he’d say now.

“Keep your faith, and keep working because the moment you lose your faith and don’t keep God with you, nothing will come,” Louie told WV Sports Now. “Nothing is free in life, you have to go out and get it on your own. And that’s what I had to learn; I can’t depend upon anybody else.”

Well, actually, maybe he can depend upon a couple of people. If it wasn’t two very important people in Louie’s life, he doesn’t think he’d be where he is — let alone have climbed out of the early hole he found himself in.

“I really wouldn’t be in this situation without my parents because my parents, especially my dad, he’s a big sports guy,” Louie said. “Mainly football, that was his main sport. He pushed me and my brother to the max, and I really thank him for that because sometimes you just get mad when they on you so tough, but they do it because they love you and see so much potential in you.

“Especially my mom, too, because if it wasn’t for her driving so much, getting up early in the morning to get me to camps, getting me to visits in college and stuff,” Louie said. “It’s a lot of thanks to my parents.”

Louie committed to West Virginia a day after his official June 10-12 visit to Morgantown, adding the second running back to WVU’s 2023 recruiting class.

A strong bond with head coach Neal Brown, co-defensive coordinator ShaDon Brown, running backs coach Chad Scott, wide receivers coach Tony Washington, along with the entire staff, allowed the relationship to grow. Louie praised the staff as a strong collection of people, but it was the overall package (people, program and location) that secured an official visit. And that visit ultimately led to the commitment.

“Normally for my parents, they would have questions — a lot of questions — academic wise, in general,” Louie said. “But they really left my parents speechless. My parents couldn’t even really have any questions to ask because they really summed up everything perfectly for all of it.”

The WVU coaching staff answered any and all questions, enough to convince mom and dad to allow Louie to commit, and Morgantown itself —  a peaceful, quiet town that felt like home — actually became home.

#takemehome23 pic.twitter.com/LU08w9sU4z

— Jordan Louie (@JGROOVY11) June 22, 2022

However, Louie has continued to keep an open mind when it comes to the recruiting process. He made an official visit to Memphis, he’s likely taking an official visit to Georgia Tech in the fall, but in his mind, he said he’s set on attending WVU after graduating from high school.

Memphis and Georgia Tech have obviously shown interest in Louie, but he’s also had contact with North Carolina and Florida State. He also received offers from Arkansas, Boston College, Coastal Carolina, Louisville, Maryland, Purdue, UCF, among others.

“It means a lot to me because I started off with nothing,” Louie said. “It kinda had me down at first, but I couldn’t let that get me down to the point where I gave up. I just kept myself going, kept God with me. You know, I prayed every day, kept working every day and it got me to the situation I’m in now.”

WVU is working to bring Louie back up to Morgantown later this month, with a June 24 tentatively set, and Scott has reiterated to him that all WVU home games are open to be attended — so, Louie will likely make a home game.

But, of course, Louie’s senior season looms large now. After playing at Paul W. Bryant High School in Tuscaloosa, Alabama to begin his high school career, he transferred to Meadowcreek High School in Norcross, Georgia for his senior season.

As a junior at Paul W. Bryant High School just outside of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, Louie racked up just over 1,200 scrimmage yards (721 yards and 11 touchdowns at just over 10 yards per carry and an additional 489 yards and six touchdowns on 54 receptions out of the backfield).

With a compact 5-foot-11, 200-pound build, Louie is a powerful runner who is able to shed tackles at the line of scrimmage, but he’s also fast enough to turn his quick 10-yard gains into home run threats and shifty enough to evade defenders in the open field.

With the chance to play at Medowcreek in Georgia as a senior, Louie will have the opportunity to showcase his ability in front of more eyes and against better competition.

247Sports rates Louie as the 723rd-ranked recruit in the class (51st-ranked running back and the 69th-ranked recruit from Georgia) while On3 rates him as the 731st-ranked recruit in the class (54th-ranked running back and the 67th-ranked recruit from Georgia). Rivals rates him as the 26th-ranked running back and the 41st-ranked recruit from Georiga.

2023 three-star running back Jahiem White from William Penn High School in York, Pennsylvania is the other halfback commit in WVU’s 2023 class.