As unassuming as Westerkamp can be, it could be easy to forget that the player from suburban Lombard, Illinois, set his state’s high school record for catches, yards and touchdowns, or overlook that, in a run-heavy offense, he already has 474 receiving yards and thus a good shot at Nebraska’s first 1,000-yard season.
But you also know that Westerkamp’s dad, Bob, was a college wide receiver. And that Bob Westerkamp has been schooling Jordan in the craft of receiving since the third grade. That’s when Westerkamp remembers first running pass routes. Westerkamp jokes that he probably caught “a thousand” balls a day. Since Westerkamp isn’t one for hyperbole, he’s asked if he’s serious.
No, it wasn’t quite 1,000 passes a day. But it’s a lot. So those plays in which it looks like his hands have a magnet for the ball, that’s not an extended streak of dumb luck.
That’s practice. And practice. And practice.
“He does the extra,” coach Bo Pelini said. “He always has. He’s a kid who gets every ounce out of his ability.”
Said Westerkamp: “The more you do it, the better you’ll get with it. The more you do it, the more natural you’ll get with it. So I think being able to do that, and continually catch footballs since what seems like forever, it’s almost become second nature.”