Whatever it Takes: Jusevitch Preparing to Contribute

Written by: TJ Inman (@TJHoosierHuddle)

Although he’s only been on campus for a couple of weeks, Indiana-native Jordan Jusevitch already knows exactly what he needs to do during his career as a Hoosier: “Whatever I have to do to help the team. Whether that’s special teams or on the defensive side of the ball,” the freshman from Lowell, said. “I think I can have a huge impact by doing that.”

The first player to commit to Indiana for the 2018 recruiting class, Tom Allen’s first full class as the head coach, Jusevitch has been a Hoosier for a while and he never wavered on his pledge. The reason was simple, he loves Coach Allen. “Everything people say about Coach Allen is true. He’s definitely a great guy and someone I want to spend the next four years around. His faith, everything he believes in are things myself and my family believes in. That’s someone I want to be coached by.” He helped recruit other players into this class and he’s now been on campus for a couple of weeks and has joined a very talented Hoosier secondary. Players are working together to learn the playbook and build their strength and conditioning so that they can hit the ground running when fall camp opens.

A common practice by Hoosier Huddle staffers, and pretty much every fan out there, is to compare incoming players to current or former Hoosiers. It’s an easy way to gauge expectations and describe a playing style or body type. The comparison for Jusevitch is obvious, almost to the point that you may feel forced to look further to find someone else. Sometimes, the right answer is the one that is right in front of you though. “When Coach Joseph was here, he wanted me to wear #30 because that was Chase Dutra’s number,” Jusevitch said. “That meant I have to compete every day. I have to be the hardest worker, I have to be smart, know the playbook in and out. Just be the ready to do the little things every day.”

While Dutra had some injury setbacks during his time in Bloomington, I think everyone would be pleased if Jusevitch’s career ended up as strongly as Dutra’s did. The players have similar builds, look similar, played safety and were from Indiana (Dutra hailed from Brownsburg). Perhaps most importantly, both players were heat-seeking missiles on the field. Jusevitch says he is currently about 198 pounds and Coach Allen would like for him to be 205 or 210 by the time their summer workouts are done. He’s going to line up as a safety and likely fill the role of a roving strong safety. The Hoosiers are currently loaded at the safety positions with guys like Khalil Bryant, Jonathan Crawford, Bryant Fitzgerald and Juwan Burgess. In addition, the Hoosiers have fellow incoming freshman Devon Matthews to further stock the position group. The new redshirt rule that allows players to play up to four games and still receive a redshirt makes it likely that everyone in this group will see at least some time during the 2018 season.

“Coming from a 4A school in Indiana (Lowell High School), you don’t see the speed you see here. It’s an adjustment and I’m going to have to get used to it but I’m going to be alright,” Jusevitch said in his first media availability session. There are definitely adjustments that will need to be made and Coach Allen let him know that he would like for him to add around ten pounds to his 198-pound frame by the end of the summer workout session. The position is stocked with talent, both returning and incoming, but the freshman from Northern Indiana is a Hoosier through and through and he is ready to do whatever is necessary to begin helping his team succeed.