Gophers safety Jordan Howden had a baptism by fire during his true freshman season in fall 2018 — and then he nearly froze that winter.

Howden was thrust into a starting role with the season-ending foot injury to Antoine Winfield Jr., and the walk-on struggled with the adjustment to Big Ten football. After the season, the San Diego native recalled numbing minus-40 degree conditions on his treks to and from a night class.

“It was something you don’t forget,” Howden said with a smile as his senior season wrapped up in November.

Howden didn’t let those bites gnaw at him. He made huge strides on the field through last season to become a leader on the U’s stout defense and coped with the relentless snow and cold to be a consistent academic all-Big Ten honoree.

“I was just on a mission,” Howden said. “Someone willing to do whatever it took, and that is why I look back and I was like, ‘Dang, how far I came.’ Something a lot of people can’t do.”

Cornerback Terell Smith also did it. The Snellville, Ga., native showed aplomb in his true freshman season, but injuries and inconsistent play disrupted the middle of his career before he bounced back in a big way last season. He, too, was a regular on the academic all-Big Ten lists.

Both Gophers players — “J-How” and “T-Time” — are expected to hear their names called in the middle rounds of the NFL draft this weekend. They are testaments to perseverance in the age of players seeking quick fixes or searching for greener grass in the NCAA transfer portal.

The Gophers have had three defensive backs picked in the draft over the past three years: Winfield (first round in 2020), Chris Williamson (seventh in 2020) and Benjamin St-Juste (third in 2021).

Fellow U defensive back Tyler Nubin is projected to be an NFL pick next year but will be living vicariously through Howden and Smith this weekend.

“It’s going to be tears of joy because I got to see those guys from when I first got here (in 2019) and we were all kind of nothing and going through the grind,” Nubin said last week. “Those are my brothers. Seeing them drafted, that is going to be awesome. I really cannot wait.”

Smith was nagged with muscle injuries in the middle of his career but set out to correct that. Over the previous two seasons, he would arrive at the Larson Football Performance Center well before his teammates showed up for workouts. He stretched on his own and asked head strength and conditioning coach Dan Nichol to stretch him some more. He maintained that mobility work every day.

“That started rubbing off on me and the other guys in the group,” cornerback Justin Walley said. “… Then we see how that translates to the field. Now, all the cornerbacks are up in the morning stretching, getting our body right.”

Smith and Howden had to get their minds right, too, and they were able to share with NFL personnel how they overcame adversity in college to be better prepared for the next step.

Howden has a message for other walk-ons.

“To never give up, to keep working because you never know what might happen,” he said. “Opportunities do come, you just have to take your opportunity and go with it. Just believe in yourself.”