It’s been a long and winding road for Jordan Brown to get to where he is now.

From growing up in California, to attending prep school at Jireh Prep in North Carolina where he started his football journey, to signing with UNC-Charlotte, to entering the transfer portal and picking Georgia Tech, to not seeing a snap on the field during the 2023 season, to working his tail off this past offseason to ending up where he is now as a co-starter at left tackle for the 2-0 Jackets.

Brown, a redshirt-junior who has rotated almost equally over the first two games at left tackle with Corey Robinson II, said he is thankful that it was such a smooth transition once he picked Georgia Tech and that his efforts this past offseason in particular helped him make big strides with his teammates and coaches and toward more playing time.

"So normally through the transfer portal process, I hear like it's an adjustment to make, but once I got here, everybody really made me feel at home,” said Brown, who spent two seasons at Charlotte in 2021 and 2022, appearing in seven total games. “So it's been a pretty easy transition. The coaches have been really great to me, the players, getting extra work in and all that good stuff.

"I would say getting healthy and gaining my confidence back (is when it started to click this year),” added Brown. “And just working...I was working out all summer, and we really went at it this summer. So I feel like I gained a lot of trust with the guys too, showed them my work ethic."

Brown has been a solid part of the Jackets’ offensive line having a big start to the 2024 season as Georgia Tech heads into an ACC road matchup at Syracuse ranked No. 23 in the AP Poll, the first ranking the team has had since the 2015 season. He said rotating series with Robinson hasn’t been something that has held either back as both are ready whenever they are needed and going up against the Jackets’ defense every day at practice has made producing in games a bit easier.

"We're trading off every drive right now,” Brown said of the time-share with Robinson. “I'm just ready whenever my number is called, always staying ready.

“Well I've got to credit a lot of that to our defense,” added Brown, who met with the media following Wednesday’s practice. “We have a really good defense, and going against them in practice every day through spring and fall camp, it's made the games a lot easier. You get to the games, and things start to slow down because you're going against great guys like that every day."

Another aspect of his improvement and comfortability on the field is the man directly to his left with starting left guard Joe Fusile being a positive influence on him by the way he plays the game and is always looking out for his teammates, especially his offensive line cohorts. Brown added that Fusile being by his side has made the transition to left tackle after practicing at multiple positions back in 2023 has made things a lot smoother.

"Joe is a really experienced guy. He's one of the best communicators that I've ever played around,” said Brown. “He’s always making sure you know what you've got, echoing the calls and he's always pulling you aside, talking about what went through your mind here and there. So yeah, Joe's been really great to me, like really great.

“I feel like I've been adapting pretty well. I played left tackle at my last school, and then I got here and played a different other couple positions. But it helps having a guy like Joe making calls for you."

Brown said that he was pleased with the way the offensive line played as a unit overall in the Georgia State game, but that there is always room for improvement. And that having Brent Key, a former offensive lineman and offensive line coach in the head role, is definitely something he’s thankful for.

"I would say Coach Key played a huge factor in my decision in coming here,” said Brown. “I went to a couple other places and got the recruit talk there, but Coach Key sat me down, kept it straight up and that's what I like about him the most. He was real honest about it, no sugar-coating anything, and that's what I want in a coach.”

Key’s old-school mentality about being physical is a bonus as well according to Brown.

"Yeah, run the ball. Run the ball, for sure,” said Brown with a smile. “Especially with a unit like us…run the ball."

Brown, his fellow offensive linemen and the Jackets as a whole will likely make running the ball and playing their physical brand of football again a priority this week on the road at Syracuse (Noon, ACC Network) as Key clearly stated this game will come down to how physical, tough and disciplined his team can play against the Orange.