Family and friends are still coming to grips with the death of former West Mesquite High School football standout Ty Jordan.
Jordan died on Christmas Day in what has been preliminarily ruled as an accidental shooting.
Now, Jordan is being remembered by his uncle as the son he never had.
“I kind of treated him like a son because I didn’t have a son,” said Rickey Jenkins. “It was exciting for me to watch him play, I always wanted him to get the ball because he could make something happen.”
Jenkins and Jordan bonded over their shared love for football and starting in the seventh-grade, Jenkins began attending his games and helping to mentor him both in sport and life.
“It seemed like I could feel what he was doing, it gave me fulfillment,” said Jenkins.
By the time Jordan was in high school, Jenkins was manning a camera at his games and then editing together videos on YouTube that would go on to get the star running back national attention. Ultimately, leading to a scholarship to the University of Utah where Jordan was named Offensive Freshman of the year only days before his death.
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“When I watch the videos you know it makes me smile,” said Jenkins.
All of it now is bittersweet and coming to grip with Jordan’s loss is something Jenkins knows may never fully come to pass.
“I was just so proud of him,” he said.
