Recapping defensive tackle Jordan van den Berg's path to Penn State

Jordan van den Berg likely didn’t know it at the time, but he picked a pretty strong school when it comes to developing players who grew up outside of the United States.

In addition to all the Canadian prospects over the years, recent NFL retiree Jack Crawford may be the most notable example. After spending the first 15 years of his life in London, England, Crawford came to the United States as a sophomore in 2005 to pursue a dream in basketball. At the time, he had been playing for England’s Under-16 basketball team.

However, due to a transfer rule, Crawford had to sit out his first year at St. Augustine in New Jersey. That sparked his interest in giving football a try, which is how he eventually ended up at Penn State. Crawford just retired from the NFL in May after 10 seasons.

Only time will tell if van den Berg, who’s currently a redshirt freshman, can become Penn State’s next Crawford, but his story is interesting nonetheless. Growing up in Johannesburg, South Africa, van den Berg moved to the United States when he was just 10 years old. Up until then, the only sports he had really played were cricket and rugby. That’s not going to help you relate to kids in Atlanta, where he and his family moved.

However, there are similarities between rugby and football, so come his sophomore year of high school, van den Berg decided to give it a try after a little peer pressure from his friends. It’s hard to believe today, but he actually started out as a wide receiver. 

“I was 5-10, 150 pounds,” van den Berg said. “All I did was just run around out there. I didn’t really understand the game.”

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His first experience may not have been the best, but like all good athletes, van den Berg wasn’t going to just quit. After adding some much-needed size in the offseason – he estimates about two inches and 40 pounds – he gave it another go his junior year.

That growth spurt also allowed him to switch positions, finding a much more natural fit at linebacker. After all, it’s a much easier game on defense. Find the ball, get the ball. Add in the opportunity to be physical and linebacker was perfect for Jordan.

He ended up blossoming at the position, totaling 98 tackles and earning all-region honors. But that was nothing compared to his senior season. After adding another three inches in height, plus another 20-30 pounds, van den Berg totaled an eye-catching 157 tackles his final season in high school. Add in 14 tackles for loss, five forced fumbles and four sacks and it was truly one of the best defensive performances of any player in Georgia, which features some of the top talent in the country.

Linebacker worked for him in high school, but at nearly 240 pounds by the time he graduated, it was clear that he was going to outgrow the position. With no film of van den Berg playing defensive line, only one Division III program showed interest from a scholarship perspective. He said didn’t have high enough SAT scores to get in.

However, one of the best junior college coaches in the country, Scott Strohmeier at Iowa Western Community College, was intrigued with van den Berg’s potential. 

“We got his film in an email from somebody and we looked at it and saw this 6-3, 240-pound linebacker just running all over the place, hitting people,” Strohmeier said.

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van den Berg arrived at Iowa Western in Council Bluffs, Iowa, as a walk-on defensive lineman in the fall of 2020. Strohmeier knew he had the potential to be really good, but since he was playing defensive line for the first time, he had to come in as a walk-on to start.

“His work ethic is incredible. He’s a great kid, a great student,” Strohmeier said. “Everybody loves him. He just did everything that you want your players to do, on and off the field. So, when he transitioned, he did just a great job when we were practicing, and that’s when I told him that I’ll put him on scholarship in the spring.”

Since the COVID-19 pandemic forced junior colleges to play in the spring of 2021 instead of the previous fall, van den Berg was a scholarship player when he took the field for the first time on March 27. He totaled three tackles and a sack in just the first quarter of his first game before hurting his MCL and having to sit out three weeks. He would return four weeks later, finishing the season with 20 tackles and a sack in five games.

“I think so many kids have been hurt from the pandemic, but for a kid like him it helped because it gave him the fall to put on some weight,” Strohmeier said. “If he played right away in the fall as a freshman at 250 pounds, I’m not sure he would’ve had the success he had.”

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Since he was always strong academically, van den Berg was eligible to leave after just his first season. Also, when you add in the fact that the spring 2021 season didn’t count towards eligibility, van den Berg quickly became a very attractive prospect to Division I programs with late holes to fill.

It also helped that schools were allowed to work players out individually last year, in a non-camp setting. That gave Penn State, Iowa and Nebraska all an opportunity to see him up close before deciding whether to offer or not. At 6-foot-3, 279 pounds, van den Berg ran a 4.75-second 40-yard dash and had a 31-inch vertical. As you would expect, all three schools ended up offering, and Strohmeier knew then that van den Berg had to take them up on the opportunity.

“He was going to come back until he went on these visits and worked out with each school,” Strohmeier said. “I told him, to be a five [year] to play four [years] kid, you have to take this opportunity. He had some lower-level offers, but it was really Power Five or bust for him.”

With summer classes about to start, van den Berg ended up committing immediately after earning an offer from Penn State on June 6, 2021. He immediately went back to Iowa, gathered his stuff and would enroll at Penn State the following week. 

“It meant a lot [coming] from a program like this,” van den Berg said. “[Penn State is] a very historical, iconic program. It meant a lot that they trusted me. This fan base is amazing. It’s one of the top college football programs to come to. The fans are crazy here. Everything is just football-orientated. This is definitely a football school.”

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Now up to 295 pounds, van den Berg has the size to truly contribute at this level. Despite redshirting last year, he still impacted a few games, forcing a fumble on a sack late in the fourth quarter against Maryland. He performed well against Arkansas in the Outback Bowl, too, totaling three tackles, including one for a loss of yards. 

Now, with four seasons of eligibility remaining, van den Berg should see his role increase even more in 2022. With PJ Mustipher, Coziah Izzard and Dvon Ellies currently ahead of him in the depth chart, he won’t have much pressure to produce instantly this season. That bodes well for this season’s goals.

“My goal is just to carry on developing as a player and as a person. I want to just hone in on my skill sets and just become more of a complete football player,” he said.

But make no mistake, van den Berg will have an impact on this program before he leaves. 

“I feel like I’m a very electric player,” he said. “I’m very twitchy, so I feel like [fans] can expect to see me in the backfield a lot. I feel like I can be a difference-maker [in] the next year.”