A desire to win pushed Adel-Desoto-Minburn graduate Jordan Grove to take a chance on himself in the fall of 2013. ADM’s former all-state running back joined Division II’s Northwest Missouri State University Bearcat football team as a walk-on.

“My left tackle from high school, Noah Taylor, he was getting heavily recruited down here so I just kind of tagged along,” Grove said, “They ended up offering him (a scholarship), and I just walked on.”

The Adel native turned his opportunity into one of the more decorated careers in Bearcat history. The Northwest football program had three National Championship Trophies before Grove’s arrival. In his half-decade on the Maryville campus, the Bearcats have added three more pieces of championship hardware to the trophy case. Grove was a major part of 2015 and 2016 National Championships squads, acting as the Bearcat’s swiss army knife. His collegiate resume features 2,558 all-purpose yards including 1,672 receiving, 561 rushing, 325 returning, and 45 passing yards. Grove’s career also features 23 total touchdowns, 24 total tackles, and he’s been one of the team’s better pass blockers. His on fieldwork has earned him multiple first-team All-MIAA selections, and Grove was chosen a Don Hansen Honorable Mention All-America last season.

Grove credits his success to hard work and doing the little things right. “That’s something we preach here a lot.” Grove said, “Doing every little detail, don’t skip steps in the process. Trust in the process, work hard. That’s something that really sets you apart in college football. A lot of people come play college ball and they fizzle out because they’re not willing to put in the work.”

The Raccoon Valley Radio Network was on hand for Grove’s senior day football game Saturday at Bearcat Stadium. We’ll have much more from Grove throughout the week, including his thoughts on his time with the ADM football team.