Five games into his senior season of football, Jordan Todd broke his ankle against Azusa Pacific University, ending his football career.

Before Todd was actually diagnosed with a break, there was some optimism that he could return.

“I thought he was gonna be alright as tough a kid as he [is],” head football coach Ian Shoemaker said.

But before he was given the official news, Todd knew it wasn’t just another sprained or rolled ankle.

“Previously, I had missed a game for another ankle injury earlier in the season, and I was just like ‘geez man the other ankle’… this could be bad,” Todd said. “I kinda already new it was a break. I’ve hurt my ankles a lot playing this game.”

Todd, a two-sport star, could have easily let that end his athletic career, but he has worked hard and rehabilitated his ankle in time for track season.

“Jordan is definitely one of the hardest workers I’ve ever seen,” sprinters coach Bryan Mack said. “Dude works his ass off. He’s a gym rat. You can’t get that guy to stop working.”

That work ethic has been evident in Todd’s athletic record.

Standing at just five-foot-six, Todd amassed over 2500 yards on the ground on the football field and has been a standout in the 100-meter dash and the 4×100 relay team.

Todd said that he stayed positive after the injury. He said former teammate Ishmael Stinson, who also dealt with numerous injuries, set a good example.

“He never was down, he never complained about it, he never had a bad attitude about it,” Todd said. “Just having people like that around to see how you should behave and how you should take these instances really helped me stay resilient.”

In his time at Central, Todd changed from the guy who followed his teammates’ examples to the guy that setting those examples.

“He’s a veteran in two sports and kind of knows all the pitfalls freshmen go through,” Mack said. “Last year he did a really good job of tough love.”

Todd started his rehab with lots of band work and has been doing isolated lifting since being cleared to move weights.

According to Mack, the key is to make sure that Todd’s ankle in healthy enough to go without tape.

“One of the biggest things for sprinters is to be able to get off the ground as quickly as possible, and to do that the ankle has to go through a large range of motion,” Mack said.

While the tape helps prevent injury, it also limits the range of motion and in sprinting events, every inch counts.

“You think about taking half-an-inch of your step, every step you take in a 50 and 100-meter dash add up,” Mack said. “He’s such a hard worker I don’t think he’ll have any problems in the spring being where he needs to be.”

Todd said that last week a doctor told him the ankle he has been rehabilitating is actually stronger than the other now.

“Everything’s healed up,” Todd said. “I’m feeling good and stronger than ever.”