Glasgow brothers nearing rare trifecta
One's laid back.
One's outgoing.
One's determination is off the charts.
Yet in a big way the Glasgow brothers are the same.
"They all understand that it's not where you start, it's where you end up. It's part of the journey, the process," said Dr. Steve Glasgow of his sons, Graham, Ryan and Jordan.
The football-playing brothers' journey is an incredible story that may get more incredible.
Outstanding players at Marmion, each of the three accepted preferred walk-on spots at the University of Michigan, went on to earn scholarships, and as fifth-year seniors received program awards as the best of their respective position groups.
Now they all share the same agent, Jim Ivler.
Graham Glasgow, the 27-year-old laid-back brother, has played center and offensive guard four seasons with the Detroit Lions. Ryan, 26, just concluded his third season as a defensive tackle for the Cincinnati Bengals.
Jordan, 23 - "the most festive and the most focused," Dr. Glasgow said - finished second on the Wolverines with 89 tackles this season. While earning academic all-district honors he won Michigan's Blue Collar Award and its Roger Zatkoff Award as the team's top linebacker.
"Jordy," as his family calls him, was a national semifinalist for the Butkus Award honoring the country's top linebacker, a national semifinalist for the academics-based William V. Campbell Award and - like Ryan - a candidate for the Burlsworth Trophy given to the best college player who began his career as a walk-on.
Making 5 tackles, 1 for loss with a pass defended in the Jan. 18 East-West Shrine Bowl in Tampa - fellow Marmion graduate Luke Juriga represented Western Michigan; Graham Glasgow played in the 2016 Shrine Bowl - Jordan did well for himself. Off the field, too. He impressed in interviews with professional franchises.
"I've met with a majority of the teams," Jordan said, 6 feet and 226 pounds.
He never did share the body type of his older brothers, now each at least 6-3 and 300 pounds. But his destination is the same.
"I've been told I have a good shot, so I'm going to try to take every opportunity I can," said Jordan, currently at the EXOS training facility outside of Dallas preparing for the NFL Combine starting in late February.
"I think Jordy has a place in the NFL. I think he'll have a very good shot at getting drafted, making a team and going out there and playing on Sundays," said Graham Glasgow, who like each of his brothers earned his bachelor's degree and is working toward a master's.
"I think he's the best special teams player in the country, honestly," Ryan said. "I think he'll carve out a niche in the NFL."
He first had to carve a niche at home where, as Marmion football coach Dan Thorpe said, "obviously the foundation and the molding by his parents" helped the Glasgows surmount challenge after challenge.
Not only Steve and Michele Glasgow, who also have a daughter, Anna, in her sophomore year at Indiana University.
Steve is an orthopedic surgeon specializing on knees. His wife, Dr. Michele Glasgow, is an orthopedic surgeon who works on shoulders. They met while in residency at the University of Pennsylvania.
As young doctors they worked long hours establishing their practices. Steve Glasgow's parents, James and Carmella, lived in their DeKalb home and helped raise the children, bringing their values and morals.
"That was awesome," said Graham Glasgow. "We always had someone around to break up the fights."
There were those, of course, since the older boys were born only 13 months apart. Eventually Jordan joined the fray with relentless intensity no matter how secure the headlock.
"It made me tougher," he said, but Jordan also noted that Graham and Ryan held him accountable, positive and "forward thinking."
Their secure home environment - "nothing was ever wanted," Ryan said - enabled them to become their own men while absorbing two generations' worth of core values.
"Fortunately, all three are very bright, and then I would say they're all very hardworking," Steve Glasgow said. "What we tried to pound into them early is what you can control is how hard you work, how smart you work and how long you work. You don't get to control the gifts that you've been given."
Ryan's freewheeling passion on the field. Graham's desire to understand technique and strategy. Jordan's drive and athleticism.
All heading in the same direction.
"Everybody in his own way has done it a little bit differently," Graham said. "But I think it's interesting that we're all kind of ending up in the same spot, which is pretty cool."
doberhelman@dailyherald.com