Linebacker Jordan Magee is looking forward to getting healthy and proving himself to NFL talent evaluators. Magee just completed his fifth season as a member of Temple’s football program, and he bypassed a possible sixth season to declare for the NFL draft.
The 6-foot-3, 227-pound Magee was a Second Team All-AAC choice this past season.
Magee will be at a disadvantage since he underwent right biceps surgery on Nov. 21.
Still, he is currently training in Fort Myers, Florida, doing what he can to recover from the injury.
“They have a great rehab team here,” he said in a phone interview with HERO Sports. “What I do is lower body speed work and when I do upper body, I use my left forearm.”
He suffered the injury in Temple’s second-to-last game, a 34-24 loss at UAB on Nov. 18.
After his surgery, Magee had to decide whether he wanted to use a sixth year of eligibility at Temple or to turn pro. He redshirted in 2019 and the 2020 year didn’t count on any football player’s eligibility due to COVID.
Magee became a starter in the fourth game of the 2021 season and has been a fixture ever since. In 2022, he led Temple with 86 tackles, which was 10th most in the AAC. He also recorded 9.0 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. This past season in 11 games, he again led Temple with 80 tackles, which was eighth in the AAC. He was third in the AAC with 14 tackles for loss.
While Magee has stood out, Temple has struggled.
Temple last had a winning season in 2019, Magee’s redshirt season when the Owls went 8-5. Even though he redshirted that season, Magee played in the maximum allotted four games.
Since then, the Owls have been 10-33, including three straight 3-9 seasons.
“I had a great experience at Temple, other than not winning as many games as we would have liked to,” he said. “I learned a lot from a lot of good people, including (future NFL players) Shaun Bradley, Chapelle Russell, and Sam Franklin, and got to experience that Temple-tough mindset.”
Despite Temple’s record, Magee said it wasn’t an easy decision to bypass his final season of eligibility. One thing that did make it easier is that he has already earned his degree in Advertising.
“It was definitely a tough decision,” he said. “I felt it was the right time to leave and when the injury happened, I talked to coaches and my parents and felt the best option was to turn pro because you never know what can happen and I could get injured again.”
Magee is represented by Jason Bernstein of Clarity Sports. According to Magee, a couple of NFL teams have expressed interest to his agent and was told it’s possible he could get drafted in the fourth through sixth round.
So much can happen between now and the NFL Draft, which is April 25-27 in Detroit.
Magee plans to interview with teams now and as his health improves, work out later.
He was invited to play in the East-West Shrine Bowl on Feb. 1 in Frisco, Texas. Magee says he plans to attend the game, even though he can’t play. He also was invited to the NFL Combine on Feb. 26-March 4. He will also attend the combine, although he won’t be able to participate in the drills, he is looking forward to interviewing with teams.
Temple has tentatively set March 27 for its Pro Day, and Magee hopes to work out by then, although he still won’t be able to bench press. He says that he is hoping to totally recover from his surgery sometime in May.
He said he’ll likely be an inside linebacker in the NFL, but could also play outside, with the athletic ability to guard tight ends and running backs.
What will also help his potential NFL future is that he has played plenty of special teams at Temple.
It’s not ideal, coming off an injury and attempting to impress potential future suitors, but Magee remains upbeat.
“I have full range of motion in my arm and am getting stronger every day,” he said. “I am looking forward to the process.”
Where Did Jordan Magee Get Drafted?
Magee was drafted by the Washington Commanders in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft. He was selected with the 139th overall pick.
