Like a lot of top recruits coming out of high school, Jordan Seaton was told how great he is by many people.
Especially in the recruiting process, the No. 1-ranked offensive line prospect in the country for 2024 heard it often. Then, he spoke with Colorado head coach Deion Sanders.
“Coach Prime had three things I need to work on,” Seaton said, adding that Sanders told him to work on his size, core and bending his hips better. “I’m like, ‘I could work with that because, like, right now you’re trying to elevate me and I’m not even here.’ … That kind of stood out to me the most. I don’t really like to have the ‘yes’ men in your ear.”
That honesty is part of what led Seaton to sign a letter of intent with Colorado. And, now that he’s at CU, the quest to get better is underway and the 6-foot-5, 285-pound freshman from IMG Academy isn’t taking anything for granted despite being a five-star recruit.
“It’s always something that you can work on,” said Seaton, who has his first week of spring practices with the Buffs under his belt. “I’ve got a long way to go. So when people try to think on the big picture, they kind of miss the stuff in between to get to the big picture. So right now, I’m just trying to make it through spring ball. It’s going day by day and then in the long run ultimately my goal will be reached.”
Seaton’s potential is off the charts, which is why he was the most coveted offensive line recruit in the country this year and why his recruitment was national news.
Seaton visited many of the top programs, including Alabama, Florida, Ohio State, Oregon and Tennessee. When he announced his decision to come to Colorado, he didn’t do it with a cool graphic on social media; he announced it live in studio on Fox’s Undisputed – one of several media appearances me made at that time.
Two weeks later, though, when the three-day signing period began, Seaton didn’t sign. There was speculation he would land at Maryland (he’s from Washington, D.C.) or somewhere else. It wasn’t until the third day of the signing period that he actually signed and the news was revealed during a video on social media as he shopped with CU quarterback Shedeur Sanders.
Seaton certainly embraced the spotlight during the recruiting process, although he said being in the spotlight “is actually kinda hard.”
“Sometimes you get overwhelmed,” he said. “I kind of just want to work and then with working hard and with putting your dedication to the sport, the spotlight, all the Instagram stuff, all that stuff kind of comes with it. So it does get overwhelming and sometimes you got to embrace it, but sometimes you got to know when it’s time to lock in and put that stuff to the side.”
Since getting to Boulder, he’s been locked in, knowing that much is expected of him and the five veteran offensive linemen brought in as transfers to protect Shedeur Sanders.
“Whoever is behind in the quarterback position, I’m gonna block my butt off, you know?” he said. “But the bond that me and Shedeur have, it just makes you want to go a little bit harder. When you have a connection with somebody it’s kind of different.”
It’s a bond that Seaton is building with his fellow linemen, too, through dinners and other off-the-field activities, as well as learning from them. None of his fellow linemen were five-star recruits like he is, but Seaton knows they’ve got something he doesn’t have: college experience.
“It’s a difference from playing and not playing,” he said. “Those guys have been playing four years, three years. … I’m a visual learner and I like to learn from people who have actually done it.”
Where and how Seaton fits into the offensive line this year remains to be seen, but Shedeur Sanders feels comfortable with the talented freshman blocking for him.
“I’m extremely confident,” Shedeur said. “Jordan definitely showed me that he’s ready. He showed me a lot that I really didn’t expect that much from him. I understand he’s young, he’s gonna have growing pains, but really just the fact he’s able to listen on and off the field and just get wisdom just from other players (is important).
“I’m really excited. I’m really happy about Jordan. I’m happy he made the decision (to come to CU) because I feel like it’s the right one and he’s definitely a generational player.”
