There are so many special milestones defensive back Jordan Hoover says he’ll never forget from the first three years of his CFL career:

Getting selected in the fourth round, 31st overall, of the 2017 CFL Draft,

Flying into Edmonton for his first training camp with the Eskimos,

Making 10 defensive tackles in a single game, and

Playing his 50th CFL game last year.

“Dream come true,” he said about being drafted by the Eskimos. “I’ve been playing football since I was eight years old. I think that’s the youngest you can possibly get in to play football, so I have been playing for a long time. The dream has always been there.

“To actually see your name get called and for a team like Edmonton, one of the most prestigious teams in the CFL, to call your name, you’ll never forget that moment,” he added.

To be able to share that moment with family members and close friends is also something Hoover says he’ll remember for the rest of his life.

“I really had no idea how this was all going to pan out,” he said. “It was a dream come true to be drafted and then, ‘Is that enough for you?’ Is it good enough just getting drafted? Or what do you want to do with this opportunity?’

“For me, I want to take this as far as I can go. I want to be the best version of me, but I also want to be the best safety out there.”

Hoover, 27, has played in 53 of a possible 54 regular-season games with the Esks. After making his first three starts at cornerback (a last-minute injury-replacement start in 2017 plus two scheduled starts in 2018), he started the last 16 games at safety for the Green and Gold in 2019.

“Three years ago already … wow!” he said about his draft year. “It’s just crazy how fast three years go. It feels like those are some of the fastest three years of my life.”

Hoover (six-foot-two, 190 pounds) didn’t know if what he’s experienced in Edmonton would even be possible after playing field halfback (wide side of the field) for a team that won only two games during four seasons with the University of Waterloo Warriors from 2013-16.

“With a stat-line like that (two wins), I think it would be difficult to get noticed on a national level,” he said about his college career. “People didn’t know a lot about me. They didn’t know a lot about what I had to offer because I came from a team that struggled at that time.”

Hoover said it was a very difficult team to play on because of the “emotional roller coaster” involved.

“You don’t know how to feel as a young kid,” he explained. “It’s your team … it’s a very confusing time. How are you supposed to feel? What’s the proper way to feel through something like this?”

Hoover considers himself “the black sheep” of his draft year because he flew so far under the radar in college. He initially earned an invitation to the Ontario Regional Combine and, from there, earned a trip to the National Combine.

“Probably the only thing going through my head following the off-season and going into the combine season was ‘Your whole university career, you’ve been working in the dark, so why should it change now?’ ” he said. “Just do what you have to do to get into that national spotlight and just put your head down and keep grinding in the dark. God willing, come combine time, show them what you can do and hope somebody takes notice and somebody is willing to give you a chance.

“I owe a lot to Waterloo for believing in me, first and foremost, and for putting me in touch with Jykine Bradley, who was my trainer for the combine season,” Hoover continued. “And I owe a lot to the people around me and my support system that just believed in me.”

Hoover clocked 4.03 seconds for the fourth-fastest shuttle drill by defensive backs at the Regional Combine 40-yard dash, but later had the fastest time (4.09) in the drill at the National Combine. He also finished first in the three-cone drill (6.98 seconds) and second in the 40-yard dash (4.6 seconds) at the main camp.

“I’ll never forget the feeling of Draft Day,” he said. “You want to be there with your family; then you don’t want to be there with your family. What happens if your name doesn’t get called? You don’t want to let (your family and friends) down. At the same time, you don’t want to let yourself down.

“I’ll never forget waking up that day. I didn’t know how to act or how to behave. I was happy one day – you’re proud of your accomplishments, nonetheless, if your road ends here. Or even if your name doesn’t get called, you may still get an opportunity and get invites and a chance. But it’s your day and you want it to go perfectly, especially when you’ve got everyone there with you.

“There was just a whole whirlwind of emotions. It was crazy. I’ll never forget that day.”

It didn’t matter to Hoover where he went in the draft. He knew first-round picks could be a bust and diamond-in-the-rough picks might turn out to be superstars.

“It’s what you do with the opportunity,” he said. “The first-round draft pick and the last pick overall, you’re both getting into camp and just doing what you can and using that opportunity to show the world what you’ve got.”

Hoover, who has shown a lot of potential the last three years, is waiting out the COVID-19 pandemic in the house he bought in Sault Ste. Marie, Ont., with girlfriend Mikayla on March 6.

“We got the bed frame in, a couple of bar stools for the island and some lawn chairs and that’s pretty much it for furniture,” he said. “But we’re making it work.”