However, Tiger junior Raymond Jordan didn't grow up with a privileged life, which makes you appreciate where he is now.

Raymond's path to success is full of pot holes, but they never got in his way. In 7th grade, Raymond Jordan's athletic career took a turn for the worse when he didn't make the basketball team.

Jordan said, "I figured my last name is Jordan. I'm from North Carolina. I had a lot of things going for me, but I was the shortest person trying out that year."

Jordan was short in height, but tall on toughness. He tried wrestling instead and it filled a space he'd had for a long time.

"I lost my parents at a very early age. Both parents by the age of 6. I had really bad asthma. Unlike my cousins, I wasn't able to participate in sports when I was little," explained Jordan.

Jordan says his wrestling helped him grow out of the asthma. After his first year of wrestling in 7th grade he only lost one match. He went on to be a 3-time North Carolina state champion and the state's Wrestler of the Year.

Missouri Wrestling coach Brian Smith remembers when he heard about Jordan. "My uncle decided to send me an article and it said that I think I'd like to go wrestle at Iowa State. Iowa State?! We gotta get on this kid. He must be pretty tough, "said Smith.

Jordan said "Coach Smith would always say, no good wrestlers come out of North Carolina."

Smith disagreed, " I did not say that because Raymond Jordan is a great wrestler."

Last season Jordan won the Big 12 Wrestling Championship in the 184-pound weight class, but not before he faced another opponent.

"That's huge. I had to overcome a lot of obstacles including a knee injury halfway through the season," Jordan said.

Michael Chandler, another Missouri junior wrestler said, "If you know Raymond you know he's a driven individual. Relentless."

This is just another bump that Jordan breezed through on his rocky road of life.

"At times I've said it's amazing. At times I've said with his upbringing he's learned to be positive and successful it's made his life easier than the kid that's been pampered his whole life," stated Coach Smith.

There is nothing soft about his attitude on the mat. Chandler described Jordan as a "Manchild, a beast. Extremely strong individual that will pick you up and put you on your head."

Coach Smith exclaimed, "It's like a bullet coming out of a gun! Boom!"

But off the mat, Jordan is motivated to reach heights most people never thought possible.

"He really looks at things with the glass half full and say I can make this a great thing and that's what he's done with his life," expressed Coach Smith.

A life his parents will never see.

Jordan thinks they would be still proud of him. "I think they would be very proud of me. I think they would be proud of what I'm doing."

Coach Smith and Jordan are both setting a goal of repeating as Big 12 Champion and winning a National Championship this year. Raymond Jordan, whose record is 21-1, knows about the numbers off the mat, too. He's a personal finance major.