Dear Jordan,

This is it. It’s finally here.

The year you’ve dreamed about since the day you committed to Florida. The chance to have the type of season Florida fans thought was possible back on Signing Day in 2015, when you surprised many recruiting analysts and picked the Gators instead of the Seminoles. Florida hasn’t won many of those head-to-head recruiting battles over the past several years, so the fans remember them. I know you do too.

You thought this season was going to be last year, didn’t you?

Most of us did. We all know what happened. We watched all of last summer as you presented yourself as a leader on a football team destined for big things, only to see those were just words; you weren’t ready to lead and in fact, had become involved in the Credit Card Nine scandal that derailed an entire season and left a once-proud Gators culture in ruin.

I don’t want to dwell on the past, but none of us ever truly escape it. We just try to do better than we did the day before. You said that being involved in that scandal was humbling. You said you didn’t realize how much you loved football until it was almost taken away from you. You know it delayed a shot at the NFL at least one year. You’re a smart kid, and you know the character questions will linger, even though you’ve paid your dues and debt.

Everyone deserves a second chance. Take it. Run with it. Make this season extraordinary. You’re more than capable. The numbers tell me that. The film tells me that.

Those 889 yards you ran for as a sophomore came in a vertically-challenged, passing inept offense where defenses loaded the box to stop you. You didn’t blow people away with yards-per-carry at only 5.0 a touch. But you led the Power 5 in missed tackles forced (50) and were top three in the country in average yards after contact too, at 3.75. The guys ahead of you? They were Dalvin Cook and Derrius Guice, and both are getting paid to play football in the National Football League. And Guice? You helped your team beat him on the field, making something from nothing, plowing through tackle after tackle.

Everything about your attitude seems great. Coming off the suspension, you didn’t make excuses. You put your head down and went to work. You didn’t expect to be handed your job as the starter back and instead of complaining about a crowded back field and depth chart, you competed hard all spring. You appeared to recognize the value a terrific group of running backs adds to the team. You openly talked about embracing whatever role you were given in the fall.

I hope that carries over into the fall. Lamical Perine is a better blocker than you. He deserves to play. With you gone, Malik Davis was one of the most electric freshmen in the SEC a year ago. He’s going to get his touches. True freshman Dameon Pierce has turned heads in fall camp. He broke most of Herschel Walker’s remaining records in Georgia and didn’t come to Florida to sit on the bench. Adarius Lemons isn’t going away.

Make the most of every chance you’re given. Be a great teammate, and you’ll recapture your role as a leader. Trust is handed out in teaspoons, not cups.

Sharing carries shouldn’t be tough given Dan Mullen’s offense was born for running backs like you that can make defenders miss one on one and extend plays after contact. You’ve seen what Mullen’s offense did for Aeris Williams, another highly-touted running back with a skillset similar to you.

You have to be chomping at the bit to play.

Fewer stacked boxes. Less plays where you have to run through guys. With the field spread, there will be less defenders immediately in pursuit of the ball, and you can do what you do best- make decisive runs at a gap and make players miss.

When the gaps close- well- you know what to do.

Even with no passing attack to speak of and woeful running schemes, Florida finished No. 9 in the SEC in rushing a year ago. Imagine how much adding you and installing a new and proven system can improve on that number?

Tyrie Cleveland said you look “perfect” for Mullen’s scheme. Martez Ivey said you came back to the team “way better.” It’s time to show it.

The NFL is watching.

This doesn’t have to be your last season of college football and you can return for your senior season if you want but if you succeed this year, the NFL is waiting.

One NFL front office personnel guy told me “the sky was the limit” for you from a draft perspective.

“If Jordan has a great junior year, stays out of trouble, continues to show elusiveness and toughness and improves as a blocker, he’ll be coveted on most every board,” he said.

You have to like the way that sounds. Time to go get the money.

Gator Nation is watching too. They know what kind of player you can be: a difference maker that makes an offense brutally difficult to defend. They are desperate for a winner. It’s been too long.

You didn’t come to Florida to suffer through 4-win seasons. You didn’t come to Gainesville to lose rivalry games, constantly be in and out of trouble and never live up to your immense potential. You came to win and to impact winning. You can do that this season. You can leave a legacy you’re proud of, one that helps build a foundation for success for Dan Mullen’s Florida program.

It’s all there in front of you.

All you have to do is make this season yours.