T.J. Terrell Profile
This past season as a junior 2012 DE T.J. Terrell and his J.L. Mann teammates moved up in classification from AAA to AAAA. The move may have been daunting to many but Terrell put up strong numbers despite the increased level of competition. We sat down with the 6'3 230 pound defensive end recently as he's the latest player to be featured in our "UP NEXT" series.
The move to AAAA was indeed tough for Terrell and his team as they moved into arguably the state's toughest region with the likes of AAAA Division 1 state champions Byrnes (2010) and Dorman (2009) to play. The Patriot defensive end had this to say about the move and who were the toughest hombres he faced this season.
"The game was much quicker and way more competitive in AAAA compared to AAA. Byrnes was the toughest team we faced and Shaq Anthony from Wren was probably the toughest guy I faced all season."
Terrell's first season in AAAA went pretty well all things considered as he put up strong numbers. He finished the season with 65 tackles, 10 sacks, 2 interceptions(1 for TD), 2 forced fumbles, and 2 fumble recoveries (1 for TD).
Looking back on the 2010 season T.J. says he put his best game together against Mann's bitter AAA rivals Greenville High.
"Yeah my best game was against Greenville High. I had 7 tackles and 2 sacks in that one. I also blocked a field goal too."
There's no rest for the weary as Terrell has continued to workout this offseason in a concerted effort to raise his stock in hopes of landing some scholarship offers soon. He talked about what aspects of his game he's working on the most and where he feels his strengths are already.
"The biggest thing I'm working on this offseason is my explosion off the ball and overall strength. Right now I think my technique and my feel for where the ball is on the field are my biggest strengths."
The 2012 prospect already has a number of schools showing early interest and he talked about those schools, visits, and other schools that he wants to hear from in the near future.
"I'm hearing from Georgia Tech, Clemson, Maryland, North Carolina State, East Carolina, and Duke. I'd have to say that Georgia Tech is recruiting me the hardest right now. Everybody is all even for me, they are all on an equal basis for me right now."
"I went to visit Georgia Tech this past weekend. It was very good. I didn't expect Georgia Tech to be so outstanding. I loved all of their coaches' competitive spirits and also their academics. They have so many tools to help you with your studies there at Tech."
Clemson and North Carolina State are slated to be next on his schools to visit Terrell told us. He plans on visiting more schools in hopes of landing some offers by as many of the schools as possible. He says that he wants to hear more from North Carolina, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, Miami, Alabama, Auburn, and South Carolina.
The J.L. Mann standout also shared with us what it is exactly that he'll be taking a long look at when considering possible colleges.
"Education is my top priority. Location is another thing, maybe the ACC or SEC. I would love to play as a true freshman, but if I had to redshirt then I would have no problem with that either. As far as the schemes go I'm fine with a 4-3 or 3-4 as long as we show different looks every play. I'd really love to go somewhere with a lot of fans too. You know a true gameday atmosphere! I also want to play for coaches that are going to put the team in postion to win every game."
T.J. says as of right now he intends on making his decision known on National Signing Day. SCPrepNation.com and the Scout.com team will continue to bring you all the breaking news regarding top prospects like T.J. Terrell each and every day so keep it dialed in right here for the very best coverage of South Carolina's top prospects!
INSIDE THE NUMBERS...T.J. TERRELL
Bench press: 250 pounds but still testing currently
Squat: 415 pounds
Fastest 40 time: 4.7 seconds
Check out some game footage we caught of T.J. in action versus Southside earlier this season by clicking the video player at the bottom. Inside you'll see Terrell make a few deflections, cause a fumble, and get a big sack versus the Tigers.