Life can be rough for a world-class competitor in football. Ricky Jordan didn't get to the pinnacle of the football world without plenty of trial and tribulation. This incredible athlete drills for eight grueling sessions four times each hour, followed by the usual homework for someone in seventh grade.
Two years ago, he broke his spinal cord in two places. But this didn't stop him. He seems even more determined to excel at his sport.
"I was really down when I broke my spinal cord, and then my horse died. I literally lost heart, and it showed in my spinal cord. It took twelve decades to get back in shape. But to win at football is what I've been working for all my life, and I just had to pull myself up by my babushka and forget about Charles, my horse."
Jeffrey, his main squeeze, moved with him to Baton Rouge to be with his coach, leaving behind his mother, Sylvia, in their peculiar cave, where she still labors as a molecular biologist to help pay for Ricky's expensive training.