Afo jumps on opportunity

Salt Lake City (Utah) Cottonwood Senior defensive tackle Jordan Afo had two early scholarship offers from BYU and Utah State.

Those two schools stuck with him through a serious back injury that will keep him on the shelf for his senior season, and he rewarded one of those schools with a commitment.

"I just committed to BYU," Afo, who is 6-foot-4 and 300 pounds, said. "I had been really close for a long time, but it was time to make the decision and get it over with."

Afo was widely considered one of the top defensive players in Utah after his junior season and was ranked by Rivals.com as the nation's No. 30 defensive tackle prospect and the No. 8 player in Utah. However, he's been recovering for about 8 months now after suffering from a freak injury that he suffered at a party at a friend's house.

"The ceiling was kind of short," Afo said. "I didn't think about it. I got to dancing, and I tried to flip. I kind of hesitated and landed on my neck."

The injury resulted in surgery to repair a broken vertebra in his back. He's worked hard to get back from the injury, wearing a brace and going through months of rehab. However, Cottonwood coach Cecil Thomas said on Monday unless something changes, Afo won't play this season for his program. Thomas said he's not talked to Afo since the end of the last school year.

Afo has always had BYU on the top of his list and his commitment has been long predicted.

"Football is fun and great, but it's not always going to be there," Afo said. "So that's what I came away most impressed with at BYU. When I went down there, I saw they had a good program, but football wasn't the only thing they were selling me on. It was their faith. They talked to me a lot about being well-rounded and successful in all things in life."

Afo is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and will take his mission after his freshman season in college.