Jordan Dunn is eating a lot more lobster dinners these days than he did in high school, but that doesn’t mean the Steinert High graduate has lost his hunger. Especially when it comes to being a better football player, which is exactly what Dunn has done in his three years at the University of Maine.
“We eat a lot of lobster here,” Dunn said. “Sometimes they have lobster night for dinner.”
He has hardly become a fat cat, however.
“Jordan has done a great job preparing himself to be the best player that he can be since he arrived in Orono,” Maine wide receivers coach Kyle Archer said. “His commitment to a high standard in practice and preparation in the meeting room has, and will, continue to increase his performance on Saturdays.”
Archer said Dunn had a particularly productive offseason, working with the team’s speed, strength and conditioning program and transferring his physical and mental gains to the ball field.
“He had better playmaking ability than he did a year ago,” he said. “Even though Jordan was only a sophomore he was one of the more experienced players in our offensive unit and our expectations were extremely high for him.”
Dunn met those expectations, finishing second on the Black Bears with 33 receptions for 282 yards and three touchdowns. He also saw some time on special teams and made five tackles. His highlight reel game came on Sept. 27, when he caught a 37-yard touchdown pass from Dan Collins with 52 seconds remaining to give Maine a 27-24 victory over Towson.
“That was definitely my best game this year,” said Dunn, who had six catches for 80 yards and two TDs in the contest. “The routes were all verticals (on the winning TD play). I was going opposite hash vertical. I saw the linebacker and I went over top of him. Dan looked off the safety, he was covering the backside receiver, and I had just enough time to catch the ball. He did a great job looking off the safety and hit me in the endzone with the pass. I got hit when I caught it but I held on.”
It was one of Maine’s biggest wins during a 5-6 season in which Dunn underwent a great deal of on-field growth.
He arrived at Orono in the fall of 2012 after helping lead Steinert to the Central Jersey Group III championship game and earning All-State status the previous autumn. Dunn redshirted as a freshman and went through the usual growing pains.
“It’s tough coming in and not playing,” he said. “My freshman year in camp I kind of thought about leaving, but then I thought no, it’s really what I wanted.”
And in the end, he realized that redshirting was the right thing.
“It’s pretty tough when you first go up,” Dunn said. “The whole atmosphere in Maine is completely different from New Jersey. The game is faster, the playbook is more difficult. You really have to put in the work to understand the game. I was actually happy to have the year to redshirt and gain an understanding of the game and how to prepare for a game.”
Preparation was definitely a key, as Dunn’s opponents were much more fearsome than what he was used to.
“Every player is good in college,” he said. “At the college level there are so many more defenses and tendencies. You have to know what are the hot routes. You and the quarterback have to be on the same page. In high school, you sit and watch film and understand, then you line up and play. In college you really, really have to prepare and you have to be aware.”
Dunn’s preparation paid off in some playing time in 2013, when he was used predominantly on third-down passing situations. He played all 13 games and had eight catches for 93 yards and his first career touchdown grab against Bryant. He also made eight tackles on special teams.
“In his rookie season, Jordan’s role on offense was limited to our four wide receiver package, but he did find himself in the game in critical situations and made some big plays for us,” Archer said. “He was able to gain a lot of confidence playing special teams, which continues to be a strength of his.”
Dunn said he would have liked to see a little more playing time as a freshman, but ultimately, he used it as motivation.
“I’m happy with the way I progressed for the most part. I played a little more, I had an increased role on the team. There were times I didn’t get the ball but there were times where I was just blocking and doing my assignments. I really had to work on my blocking and become better at that.”
Dunn said his biggest improvement this season was picking up yards after a catch.
“I learned a lot from just watching guys in practice,” he said. “We have other guys who are great at those things. I already had strong hands and could catch it and get hit, but now I can get hit, bounce off the hit and pick up some more yards.”
Toward the end of the season, Dunn was less than 100 percent. He sprained his AC joint and developed groin problems, which limited him in practice but did not keep him out of games.
With two years of eligibility remaining, Dunn has a bright future, his position coach said.
“He is a great athlete and he has a solid football background on offense and defense,” Archer said. “We are really lucky that Jordan Dunn is a Black Bear.”
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