Where did Jordan Love go to college? How Packers QB overcame Utah State inconsistencies to make it to NFL

Love and Happiness.

Jordan Love's emergence arsenic the Packers starting backmost of the contiguous and aboriginal has been a longtime coming. But finally, aft years of mentation and months of anxious waiting, the 24-year aged sidewinder is strutting his worldly successful the iconic canary and green.

Love is the latest successful a glimmering enactment of QBs to look nether Green Bay's mill line. And similar his 2 predecessors — Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre — Love came into the NFL with a plume of uncertainty swirling astir him.

Yes, Love was a first-round pick. Yes, helium had the tools to marque him a standout prospect, adjacent successful the institution of different marquee names similar Joe Burrow, Justin Herbert and Jalen Hurts.

Unlike his contemporaries, though, Love hadn't played successful a Power Five conference. More than that, helium hadn't adjacent strung unneurotic the benignant of consistency 1 would expect retired of an aboriginal selection.

So, conscionable however did Love scope this point. Well, it starts with his vocation astatine his alma mater, Utah State. There, Love offered evaluators a model into conscionable however talented of a endowment helium was. Even if it was blanketed by the fog of baffling interceptions and missed throws.

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Here's what you request to cognize astir Love's assemblage days:

Where did Jordan Love spell to college?

Love's assemblage vocation was a whirlwind, filled with thrills and spills. He was cloaked successful beauteous chaos, his portion shrouded with moments of madness and spells of blissful excellence.

Love attended Utah State, spurning the accepted pilgrimage done a blue-chip programme to recognize his NFL dream. Unlike a large galore hurlers who gain first-round billing, his clip successful schoolhouse was acold from steady; Love bookended his breakout 2018 run with 2 seasons accentuated by turnover issues.

Still, that 2018 was special. Love tallied much than 3,500 yards and 39 full touchdowns (32 passing, 7 rushing) to conscionable 8 interceptions arsenic a redshirt sophomore, earning second-team all-Mountain West honors. He formed a devastating duo alongside Darwin Thompson, starring the Aggies to an 11-2 grounds and a triumph successful the New Mexico Bowl. Five years later, it inactive represents 1 of the program's greatest-ever years. And Love was the conductor of the orchestra of sound that descended connected Maverick Stadium each Saturday.

Love's inferior season, his past successful Aggies blue-and-white, was noticeably little high-profile. Utah State limped to a 7-6 grounds and fell successful its vessel game. But Love's communicative had already been written. A toolsy endowment with the benignant of lively limb that near scouts enamored, Love entered the NFL Draft successful 2020. The Packers took a flyer connected him, selecting him with the No. 26 prime successful the ensuing draft. And the rest, arsenic they say, is history.

Jordan Love assemblage stats

Love strung unneurotic a ascendant 2018. However, his stats extracurricular of that sparkling sophomore twelvemonth permission overmuch to beryllium desired. Utah State is nary powerhouse and Love surely had his enactment chopped retired for him to propulsion the Aggies into the nationalist conversation. But Love's deficiency of collegiate accumulation — adjacent playing against perceived "lesser" competition" — raises a question astir the valuation of tools vs. accumulation astatine the assemblage level. After all, Love was confronted with a full batch of "new" successful his last twelvemonth successful the Beehive State; a caller caput coach, a caller discourtesy and a flank of caller prospects astatine his disposal.

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Nevertheless, not everyone tin beryllium similar Patrick Mahomes successful the collegiate game. Sometimes, it's much astir showcasing your carnal abilities and offering a glimpse astatine the imaginable interaction you tin supply successful the pro crippled than thing else. And if that happens astatine the disbursal of your contiguous production, than truthful beryllium it.

Below are Love's stats from his 3 seasons retired successful Logan:

2020 Senior Bowl and NFL Combine

Love earned plentifulness of admirers aft lighting the Mountain West up arsenic a redshirt sophomore. But helium had to beryllium that last run — 1 wherever helium tallied up six antithetic multi-interception games — was a mirage.

He did conscionable that during the pre-draft process successful 2020. Love caught beforehand offices' eyes with his slick passing motion, shimmering limb and diversion gifts. Packaged alongside a 6-foot-4 frame, Love had the shot satellite successful the thenar of his hands. He showed out, routinely outshining his contemporaries — including Hurts — to cement his presumption arsenic 1 of his class' apical QB talents.

Here's however NFL Draft guru Lance Zierlein characterized Love's skillset up of the 2020 NFL Draft:

Challenging valuation for quarterback-needy teams balancing traits and imaginable against disappointing 2019 tape. Staff turnover and caller starters crossed the discourtesy are partially to blasted for his regression, but self-made flaws successful process were besides concerns. Love's accuracy took a measurement back, and his delayed absorption from "see it" to "throw it" erstwhile making reads is troubling. He has the limb to instrumentality throws into choky windows but needs amended oculus subject and anticipation to support windows open. His size, mobility and limb endowment combined with his 2018 flashes could beryllium a winning manus that leads a squad into the aboriginal oregon a siren's opus of erratic play and unfulfilled potential.

Love's portion was a communicative of 2 cities. On 1 hand, helium could marque each the throws an NFL franchise could anticipation for. On the other, helium took a superior dip successful presumption of production, adjacent successful the discourse of an overwhelming magnitude of turnover connected unit and roster.

It seems Love was thing of a polarizing fig successful the draught world. Pariah to some, heir evident to others. Any squad would beryllium viable to prime him, though it astir apt would behoove a broadside to marque him its starting backmost close retired the gate.

The Packers complied with said assessment. They took Love with the No. 26 prime successful the 2020 NFL Draft. In the process, it granted Love with rather the opportunity: helium would beryllium capable to enrich himself with cognition acquired by a aboriginal Hall-of-Famer inactive playing astatine the highest of his powers, Aaron Rodgers.

Green Bay is hoping that specified an accidental volition wage disconnected successful spades. In the aboriginal portions of the year, it seems it could.

Jordan Love NFL career

Love has strayed distant from the spotlight for overmuch of his aboriginal career. That's not needfully a atrocious thing; Rodgers is simply a supernova, the benignant of ebullient fig that tin suck each the airy into his orbit.

Rodgers' brilliance allowed Love to make successful a reasonably calm environment. He wasn't tasked with taking the tract consecutive retired the gross and wouldn't beryllium called upon prevention for erstwhile Rodgers was unavailable. As such, his archetypal 2 seasons were thing to constitute location about; Love enjoyed comparative anonymity, coming connected the tract for bits and pieces and thing more. He bagged a mates of touchdowns successful spot minutes arsenic a rookie, though helium did flip 3 interceptions successful that spell.

Love's sophomore play saw him spot the tract adjacent less. Granted, that's what's expected erstwhile you're the understudy for the league's MVP.

2023 is officially Love's breakout. And done the opening information of the year, it seems he's making the astir of it; he's got 7 touchdowns to 1 interception frankincense far. Love whitethorn ne'er scope the level of a Rodgers. But that's okay. For his travel from Utah's backwoods to the astir storied franchise successful shot past is surely capable to etch his names successful the stars. At slightest for a briefing movement.