Brevin Jordan is accustomed to scoring touchdowns as a former University of Miami standout and a blue-chip recruit, but his first NFL score triggered a more visceral reaction.
Jordan became so emotional and nearly overwhelmed by the feeling of catching a touchdown pass in his first NFL game Sunday that the Texans rookie tight end nearly lost his breakfast.
The fifth-round draft pick’s acrobatic catch off a Davis Mills pass in the back of the end zone in the fourth quarter against the Los Angeles Rams prompted him to keep the football and his game jersey along with a vivid memory of how strange it felt.
“When I scored, I almost threw up,” Jordan said Monday morning at NRG Stadium. “It was crazy. I was so excited like I didn’t even know how to feel. It was one of those feelings where I kind of, I don’t know, everything just got blurry.
“I just wanted to throw up. It was kind of a weird feeling. But once I got to the sideline and all the guys were congratulating me, it was a great feeling. I had to gather myself. It was hard. I almost threw up, legit. It was like, ‘Oh my gosh.’”
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The Texans had the opposite reaction to seeing Jordan score a touchdown, one of encouragement to see him make a play in his first game he’s been active for and catch threw passes for 41 yards on four targets with starter Pharaoh Brown sidelined with a hamstring injury suffered Friday.
“He showed that he deserves an opportunity," Texans coach David Culley said. "He got it basically the way he practiced, not so much because of Pharaoh being hurt, but he did a nice job. And that's what we expected out of him. He's been showing that.
"He's been practicing well. He's been doing the things we wanted him to do. He deserved an opportunity to play, and it looks like from what I saw other than the touchdown that he did a nice job.”
The touchdown was a familiar look for the Texans as Jordan Akins ran the same route earlier in the game and was wide open.
“It felt good, I was ready for the opportunity,” Jordan said. “ I always stay ready. The guys in my room, the tight ends, (tight ends coach Andy Bischoff), always preach to me to stay ready. The opportunity arose and I was just ready for it.”
A Las Vegas native, Jordan caught 38 passes for 576 yards and seven touchdowns last season for the Hurricanes despite missing three games with a shoulder injury. Two seasons ago, he was named first-team all-conference as he caught 35 passes for 495 yards and two scores.
At 6-foot-3, 245 pounds, Jordan, who wears the No. 9 jersey, somewhat resembles an oversized wide receiver.
Jordan has set his ambitions on being well-rounded in every facet of the game, including blocking.
“That’s my goal,” Jordan said. “I don’t want to be a guy that has to just come in on third down or has a specific play to get the ball or come in and just be a blocker. I want to be a complete tight end. I
“ want to be a guy where they can put me out wide on first down and then second down, I can come block on the end. That’s always what a tight end wants to be. I feel like in my opinion. Every tight end should want to be a whole dynamic tight end.”
Jordan is on his way toward accomplishing that goal. He just needs to keep upgrading his strength to be able to create pathways for his teammates.
“Blocking is different in the league,” Jordan said. “Blocking is all about a will. You have to have a will and a fight to want to block. A lot of guys, I’m not saying on my team, but a lot of guys throughout the league don’t have that will to block.
“A lot of guys want to be a one dynamic type of guy, a receiver or a blocker. I pride myself on being a good blocker. Blocking guys like Charles Omenihu and (Jordan) Jenkins and just all the guys on our team, it’s helped me a lot.”
When Jordan isn’t playing, he’s soaking up knowledge from older teammates like Brown, Akins and Antony Auclair. That covers everything from his diet to studying the playbook to how to handle any given situation.
“I would say just my maturity off the field, getting into a routine, learning how to be a pro, a true pro at this,” Jordan said. “The NFL is not an easy business, especially as a rookie. Just learning the ins and outs of the league. I think that’s helped me a lot.”