Meet Jordan Pouncey, Florida’s unsung hero and Renaissance man in shoulder pads.
Pouncey is best known as the guy who wears No. 86, the seldom-used receiver you’re used to seeing fire up the team on Saturdays. There he is, running around the field carrying the huge Gators flag. Look, that’s him over there, standing on the bench urging fans to roar. Hey, now he’s at the front of the pack as the Gators sing the alma mater.
Pouncey’s profile is large for someone with one catch on the season.
“I love Pouncey, man,” said Antwaun Powell-Ryland Jr., who has known his older teammate since the two arrived together at UF in January 2020. “He’s team. That’s the kind of guy we need on the team. He builds you up.”
The 23-year-old Pouncey, who turns 24 next month, is a sixth-year senior set to play his final home game on Saturday. He mostly plays on special teams. His career highlight at Florida came in the 2020 Cotton Bowl when he caught a 27-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Anthony Richardson, the first scoring pass of Richardson’s career.
But to limit Pouncey’s contributions to a single play would be a grave injustice.
He is so much more. Ask those in the locker room or the head coach, and they will tell you he is a vital member of the team.
“Jordan’s got an opinion. He’s mature, he’s confident and he understands the game,” Billy Napier said. “He understands what’s required to have a good team. He’s kind of embraced his role. He’s a special-teams core player, and he’s really got a leadership presence on the team. Other players respect him. I think he is whom he says he is. He’s very consistent. He’s been a joy to work with and be around.
“I can’t say enough about the guy.”
If you get to know Pouncey, there is a lot to talk about.
First, he is a rare breed in a land of transplants. He is a Florida native, born and raised in the Orlando area, and a lover of all-things Sunshine State, from the pristine beaches to the garish highway billboards.
Like his teammates, Pouncey was once a hot-shot recruit out of Winter Park High. He was Class 8A All-State his senior season, drawing interest from the top programs around the country. He committed to Notre Dame, signed with Texas, and transferred to Florida when his younger brother, Gators defensive back Ethan Pouncey, joined the Gators.
He has rarely played, but Pouncey takes comfort in knowing he finally found a home.
“I feel as if it’s my duty to give all I can, even though it’s not what I want obviously [in terms of playing time],” he said. “I have to give all I’ve got to this university. I love Florida so much, the state of Florida, and being able to represent the state of Florida at the premiere university means a lot to me.”
If you follow Pouncey on social media, you know he’s the real deal. He went to Greece last summer as part of a Gator Made trip. He volunteers. He has embraced NIL opportunities. The team released a Senior Day video this week that included comments from some of his teammates.
They love ’em some Jordan Pouncey.
“He’s just the guy that when he walks in the room, he makes everything better,” tight end Jonathan Odom said. “You can tell that whatever Jordan does in the future he’s going to be successful.”
Pouncey is the creative type away from the field.
He used to sneak his parents’ camcorder to make short movies with his friends before social media took off. When he committed to the Longhorns in 2017, Pouncey produced his commitment video to show at the school ceremony. He wrote a recruiting diary for the Orlando Sentinel his senior year. He began playing the drums as a toddler like his father James. When he joined the school band and the instructor told him no one starts in music playing drums, Pouncey learned to play the piccolo like his mother Erica. James and Erica, who separated when Jordan was in seventh grade, met in the band at UCF. Music is one of his escapes.
“It’s very freeing,” he said.
Always on the search for self-knowledge, Pouncey has learned a lot about himself during his time at UF. He changed his major from RTV (radio-television) to African-American studies when he transferred. He shares a house with his father and younger brother, renewing a bond they haven’t had for several years. A fourth-generation Floridian, Pouncey adjusted his outlook within the game, too.
He dreamed of becoming a star player like they all do when they sign, but when he began to realize that perhaps that was not going to happen, he refused to be defeated by his circumstances within the lines of a playing field.
While Pouncey has made it look easy, don’t be fooled. He’s a competitor who in his first game as running back his senior season, scored three touchdowns on his first three touches.
“I would say it’s definitely been a constant learning experience trying to carve out your role,” Pouncey said. “You show up Day 1 of camp expecting, ‘oh, I’m going to play this year.’ Then the chips fall as they do and that’s not the scenario. Then you’ve got to see where you stand.”
He stood as another rare breed: a team leader who rarely touches the field.
Napier considers Pouncey a key component in what he has tried to establish in his first season: a strong foundation for the future, and accountability in the present.
“We’ve had some players like this in the past, and they’re always special,” Napier said. “Players respect him. He works extremely hard and is a guy that has character. I think when he speaks up, guys listen to him.”
One of Pouncey’s greatest discoveries in his final season is an idea of his future. When he first started college in Texas, he envisioned becoming a sports broadcaster one day. In the past few months, buoyed by the confidence gained from serving as a team leader – Pouncey was even a captain for the Kentucky game – he has turned his attention to becoming a coach.
That doesn’t surprise his teammates.
“When he sees you down, he asks to make sure you’re OK. Because he knows his role, he feels like he can really help the team from a leader standpoint,” Powell-Ryland Jr. said. “I could definitely see Pouncey being a coach. I know he would take pride in it.”
Growing up in Winter Park, Pouncey closely followed the Friday night happenings of the Winter Park Wildcats and their legendary coach Larry Gergley, who retired as the all-time winningest coach in central Florida history. Gergley was gone by the time Pouncey arrived, but he knows the family well and is good friends with former teammate Cameron Gergley, Larry’s grandson.
Pouncey’s experience as a player in college has opened his eyes to once-remote thoughts.
“One of my dreams is to go back and be the head coach at my high school,” he said. “To be a great coach, you have to understand the game on an intellectual level. I think that’s something I have excelled at. It’s almost kind of like a second major for me.
“For me, it’s trying to look out for the younger guys. I guess it feeds into my wanting to be a coach. I love being in a leadership position and I think this year has been kind of that ‘ah-ha’ moment. The younger me had a burning desire to be a leader, but maybe I didn’t play enough, or people wouldn’t have as much respect for me because I’m an underclassman. But this year I feel like I’ve kind of stepped into that position.”
What does Napier, the son of a high school coach who knew what he wanted to do from a young age, think of that dream?
“That’s great to hear. He’s got the tools,” Napier said. “He’s a really good communicator. He’s got passion for it. He cares about other people. The things that he does talk about are real, and I think they are spot on. He’s got a good pulse. He’s got awareness. He knows what needs to be said and when it needs to be said. He’s got some great traits about him and he’s made us better.”
Before we conclude this introduction to the Most Interesting Man on the Gators, there seems to be one question about Pouncey that surfaces more than another other.
Pouncey is obviously into his wardrobe and is one of the team’s most distinctive dressers. He can stroll through Gator Walk in an orange-and-blue suit or jean ensemble and make it look good.
Still, what’s up with the cowboy hat? That’s what inquiring minds want to know most.
“I take pride in that,” he said. “I joined a spirit club at Texas called the Texas Silver Spurs. They are the people that handle Bevo. They wear cowboy hats. I just fell in love with it. It’s not going anywhere. I feel that’s part of me now.”
And just one more reason that makes Jordan Pouncey the Most Interesting Man on the Gators.
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