In BACKSTORY 2, Ellison takes you inside his freshman year at Gilman — a year defined by sacrifice, pressure, doubt, and breakthrough moments.

From choosing a school based on a 40-year plan…
To summer school and relentless workouts…
To starting on varsity as a 15-year-old nose guard…
To playing on ESPN in his first high school game…

This episode explores what it really takes to adjust at the highest level of high school football.

You’ll hear about:

• Leaving comfort and familiarity behind
• Training camp doubts and internal battles
• The emotional moment before walking onto the field on ESPN
• The Cam Newton celebration — and the lesson that followed
• Championship football in the MIAA
• Earning MaxPreps Second Team All-American honors… without a single D1 offer

This wasn’t a perfect season.
It was a growing season.

And it set the foundation for everything that followed.

🎧 Listen on:
• YouTube
• Spotify
• Apple Podcasts
• iHeartRadio

Subscribe. Follow. Share the journey.

For many athletes, the game becomes more than a sport.

It becomes identify.

In these early years, football gave him confidence, direction, and purpose.

He loved the game.

He trusted the journey.

But life had a different path waiting.

If this resonates, listen to the full Backstory 1.

Bonus Clip 1 of Backstory 1.

This episode, Backstory 1, introduces you to our first UNHEARD @HLETE, Ellison Jordan.

Athletes are celebrated for their performance, but what happens behind closed doors after a major injury or something else occurs?

You put your life and career in the hands of people who you’re told know better but unfortunately they can make it worse, much worse.

This happened to me…and yes, I got angry, I lost trust, but I didn’t lose myself and I didn’t give up on the game.

I’m Ellison Jordan, former D1athlete and I created this podcast to expose the pain and betrayal that athletes - and those who love them - experience more often than you may think.

This podcast is for athletes battling injuries, dealing with the mental strain of being sidelined and even forgotten. It starts right here, with my story.