- I've been high on T.J. since the days he was barely cracking the top 200 on the recruiting services. As many already know, T.J. is a Trojan legacy with his dad Tim being a former All-American safety at SC. Being the son of a College/NFL great, you know he's been coached well and will be quick to make the transition to the next level.
In terms of play, T.J. reminds me a lot of current Trojan safety Taylor Mays minus the freakish athleticism. He's a tall kid with a strong build and above-average athleticism. His biggest strength is his tackling ability; he's a ferocious tackler and will try to hit through people when given the chance. That toughness will make him a candidate, depending on his development physically, to make a position switch to outside LB if needed.
When you also consider that he'll be coming in with Jawanza Starling, Patrick Hall, and Byron Moore, it would make the most sense for Starling to take SS, Hall FS, Moore CB, and T.J. to switch to LB. Another thing to note is T.J. will only have a year of separation between him and Drew McAllister, who looks almost like a lock to take over the SS spot once Taylor and Will Harris leave. Obviously there are a ton of variables that come into play like redshirts and depth chart needs, but my point is there is a definitely chance that T.J. could possibly end up at LB.
- I personally haven't seen a glaring flaw in T.J.'s game, but a few things I noticed during the U.S. Army All-American practices/game was him being turned around on a couple of occasions in coverage. Unfortunately for T.J., he doesn't have Taylor's speed to recover from his mistakes and he isn't the quickest player changing directions.
- T.J.'s younger brother, Tevin, is a DB prospect for 2010. He's yet to receive a scholarship offer from SC despite showing a lot of interest, but is definitely in line to receive one in the near future. Obviously T.J., who was very active in recruiting players, will play a big part in bringing in Tevin.
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