Jordan McFadden keeps his father's memory and picture close to his heart

McFadden points to the pic of his dad at the Orange Bowl last week.

by David Hood - Senior Writer - Wed Jan 04 07:00:05 GMT-04:00 2023

If you’ve ever lived around Spartanburg, chances are good that you either ran into Ronald McFadden at some point or have a friend that knew Ronald McFadden. But he meant the world to his son Jordan McFadden, and the values the elder McFadden instilled in his son resonate to this day.

Clemson’s Jordan McFadden, the Tigers’ starting left tackle the last few years, has likely played his last game in Clemson and he’s now looking to head to the NFL. But wherever he goes, and whatever he does, he keeps his father close to his heart.

Ronald McFadden passed away back on August 24th of 2011, leaving behind his wife Kathy, daughter Ashley, and Jordan. For Jordan’s birthday back in November, Ashley gave him a pendant with a picture of his father in the center, and he wears it proudly around his neck, a constant reminder of who his father was, and who he is supposed to be.

“She got herself one and then she got me one too, so I try to keep it with me as much as possible,” McFadden told TigerNet last week. “For me it's a blessing to have. I've grown up and I've had a lot of people in my life who've helped me get to this point, but my father instilled a lot in me. He taught me a lot of values and he's a huge part of where I am today, the man I am today. So, I try to keep him with me at all times and I know he's smiling down, watching down over me. So, whenever a tough time comes, I just try to think about that.”

Jordan was 11 when his father passed away due to heart complications, but the elder McFadden was known for his oversized heart.

“He definitely was a kind of man who knew everybody and I kind of just watched what he did and how he treated people,” McFadden said. “How we treated people amazing. How he treated my mother, our family. It was amazing kind of growing up under him and he was an influential man for sure. So, he definitely taught me a lot during that time.”

McFadden carries a lot of the same personality traits as his father.

“He was definitely a person that anywhere we'd go in Spartanburg for sure, people knew who he was,” McFadden said. “When I was younger, we used to have cookouts at my house every year and people would show up that he didn't even know, but they knew him. Different things like that. It's funny, my sister was at work the other day and she had a picture of him on her desk and a man comes up, ‘That's Ronald McFadden. How do you know him?’ She was like, ‘That's my dad.’ So, he was definitely a man that really knew everybody and everybody knew him.”

Now McFadden is preparing to see what he can do at the next level, and he’s ready to snap, play guard or stay at tackle. All he feels like he needs is a shot.

“I kind of knew really last year that after I came back this year, that this will probably be it for me,” he said. “I think I've had a great career here at Clemson. I've done a lot of things, won a lot of games, won some awards, doing things like that. I think it's tough to move on from a place like Clemson, but I think with Coach (Dabo) Swinney, Coach (Robbie) Caldwell, Coach (Thomas) Austin, and everybody within the program, I've been equipped to go out in life and kind of handle business. So, I'm excited for the opportunity, excited for the challenge, but I think I'm ready for it.”