College athletes often are among the most popular people at their schools, gaining recognition for their exploits on the field and their partying off the field. But for Northwestern junior running back Terrell Jordan, life as a college athlete has taken him down a different road.

Jordan, 20, doesn’t have time for all of the partying that many of his teammates do because he got married last year.

“Terrell’s more mature for his age than you would think. You know, he’s married,” senior running back Noah Herron said. “We spend a lot of time talking in the locker room, but once he leaves here, it’s like you never see him.”

Being a married man has led Northwestern’s newest weapon live a sort of double life: one at home, where he speaks in a quiet voice with a southern drawl, and one on the football field, where his play is tough and aggressive.

“I like looking at him when he runs the ball. There’s some guys that get an evil look in (their) eyes,” coach Randy Walker said. “There’s no doubt about his talent. He’s got some vengeance.”

The Clarkston, Ga., native’s shy demeanor and glowing smile make it hard to picture his running style, which Walker said is the opposite of former NU rusher Jason Wright’s. Walker described Wright as running with a “peace, love, happiness” style while Jordan runs with more “punch.”

“It’s something that’s just been placed in me since I’ve been playing football,” Jordan said. “On the streets of Atlanta, playing on concrete, you didn’t want to get hit, so you ran with an attitude.

“I think about that all the time. How am I this person on the field, and off the field I’m just totally different?”

Jordan has found a way to balance that aggressive football side with his quiet married side, and believes the marriage has given him an advantage over opponents.

After he fumbled on a key drive in the fourth quarter of NU’s loss to Arizona State on Sept. 11, Jordan said it was his wife, Sophia, who made him look at the positives when he was down on himself.

“After that fumble I was just distraught, and she seemed to find the brighter sides of things,” Jordan said. “A person really needs that, especially when they’re down.”

Sophia also was there for Jordan when he was struggling through his freshman year at NU.

He suffered several injuries and was moved to defense, and began to question whether he was doing the right thing by playing football.

But his faith and his strong relationship with Sophia, then his fianc