In coach Ryan Carty’s opinion, Jourdan Towsend is such a multi-dimensional player he could be positioned anywhere on the football field.
It is safe to say Townsend won’t be used as a pulling guard in Thursday’s Delaware football opener at Stony Brook.
But in his fifth and final college season, Townsend expects to continue producing big plays as a pass catcher, runner and returnman for the Blue Hens.
“There’s certain people who, as a play caller, become your safety blanket, your safety net, your comfort blanket,” Carty said as his second year as UD coach neared.
“He’s one of those for me. I think that I could move him anywhere. I don’t know if he can throw well enough, but he can play quarterback in the offense. He’s one of those kids who knows it all inside and out.”
The 5-foot-11, 193-pound Townsend, from Farrell, Pennsylvania, near Pittsburgh, has 1,001 career receiving yards on 91 catches with 11 touchdowns. He has averaged 7.5 yards on 17 career carries.
Townsend also ranks 10th all-time at Delaware with 362 career punt return yards, and another 465 yards running back kicks.
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That versatility is expected to benefit the 22nd-ranked Blue Hens in a challenging opener and provide a measure of comfort for quarterbacks Ryan O’Connor and Zach Marker.
“I just feel like me, at my best, puts the team in a better position to be successful this season,” Towsend said of being reliable in different ways.
“Being a versatile player, I also feel like that puts more stress on the defense because if I line up in the backfield, line up outside, the slot . . . I move around so much it just adds on the things they have to worry about.”
Townsend takes pride in being that type of player and said it results from being self-critical early in his career, analyzing everything he does and working to perfect his skills.
Sixty-one of Townsend’s 91 career catches came last year, his first in Carty’s pass-oriented spread offense that seems perfect for a player with Townsend’s skills. He had seven catches in two games and eight in another last year.
Any time Townsend touches the football, it could turn into a decisive play. Townsend has already made plenty of those in his UD career. These were 10:
2019 vs. Delaware State
Townsend lost a fumble on his first career punt return for Delaware in its 2019 opener against the Hornets. But he returned the next 47 yards to set up Pat Kehoe’s 24-yard TD pass to Owen Tyler that gave Delaware a 16-6 second-quarter lead in a 31-13 win. “Coach [Danny] Rocco stuck with me, left me out there and I was able to take the next one . . . I was able to redeem myself,” he said. “First time being out on the football field in college, to do something like that was very special.”
2019 vs. North Dakota State
Townsend returned a kickoff 59 yards against the No. 1-ranked Bison. It set up Jake Roth’s 36-yard field goal that pulled Delaware within 10-5 in the first quarter of a 47-22 loss.
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2019 at Pitt
Delaware went ahead 14-10 on its first possession of the second half when Nolan Henderson scrambled and passed to Townsend for a 5-yard TD on third-and-goal. Pitt needed Nick Patti’s 12-yard touchdown pass to Taysir Mack with 10:33 left to pull out a 17-14 win. “One of the biggest plays for me, definitely, was that Pitt game just because it was my true freshman year and it was so close to home,” Townsend said. “A lot of family members were there to see that.”
2019 at Towson
Townsend’s 17-yard TD catch allowed Delaware to tie the game in the first period and his third-quarter 54-yard reception set up Will Knight’s 21-yard TD run that cut the Tigers’ lead to 24-21. Towson did prevail 31-24.
Spring 2021 vs. Maine
Townsend’s 37-yard run, still the longest of his career, highlighted one scoring drive in 37-0 win to open the spring season at Delaware Stadium.
Spring 2021 at Villanova
In one of the biggest clutch plays of his career, Townsend hauled in a 38-yard touchdown pass from Henderson with eight seconds left in the first half as Delaware gained a 13-7 edge in an eventual 27-20 win. It gave Delaware the CAA title and ended an 8-game losing streak against the Wildcats.
Fall 2021 vs. Albany
Townsend’s 38-yard punt return put Delaware in position for the go-ahead touchdown as Dejoun Lee dashed 11 yards to put the Hens up 10-6 in a 20-15 win.
Fall 2021 vs. William & Mary
Townsend snared an 8-yard touchdown pass from Zach Gwynn with 13:58 left for the final TD in a 24-3 win.
2022 at Rhode Island
Seven catches for 109 yards and two touchdowns by Townsend keyed a 42-21 rout of Rhode Island in the Blue Hens’ CAA opener. Townsend caught 65- and 4-yard TD passes, the longer one when Henderson retrieved a snap that went over his head and bounced on the turf.
2022 at Villanova
Delaware went up 23-14 early in the third quarter when Henderson threw 25 yards to Townsend for the touchdown. Things fell apart for the Hens after that in a 26-23 loss.
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