Luke Mertens has coached thousands of high school football players over the course of his decades-long career, but it’s hard to think of many players that stood out quite like T.J.
While T.J. played quarterback for Mertens – now the head football coach at St. Patrick’s High School – and the Lakes High School football team his junior and senior year, the coach knew T.J. wouldn’t go Division I at that position. But T.J. “jumped out on tape,” with his explosive power, knack for the ball and football IQ.
As college coaches began recruiting him, they all had different ideas of what position would suit him best; strong safety, running back, tight end, linebacker and even wide receiver were all on the table.
Ultimately, T.J. attended Wisconsin, who got it right with the linebacker position, but Mertens believes he would have found success at any of those spots. T.J.’s athleticism, competitiveness and selflessness warranted that belief.
“He’s the only quarterback to this day that I’ve ever seen that hands the ball off and then go find a linebacker to go make a block,” Mertens said. “That was actually something that stuck out to Wisconsin. They were blown away. Many quarterbacks, they hand the ball off and they kind of just watch the play. Not T.J.
“T.J. would hand the ball off and would beeline for the nearest defender and block him. It was unbelievable – something I’ve never seen before. T.J. ran towards the collision, not away from it.”
Although T.J. played multiple positions since he was in little league, mostly linebacker, Mertens wanted him at QB as the team’s leader in high school. His athletic ability played a large role, but T.J.’s personality was an equal factor in Mertens’ decision.
Mertens describes T.J. as constantly having a smile on his face and always in a good mood. He knew those characteristics were an added layer of T.J.’s success at quarterback.
“He’s just one of those types of personalities that you feel better just being in his presence,” Mertens said. “And that’s also why I played him at quarterback. It’s called an ‘it factor,’ and T.J. has that it factor on the field and he has it off the field. He’s just someone that you want to be around because he’s positive, he’s encouraging, he’s humble, just all those characteristics that we all hope our kids grow up to have one day, for those of us who are parents.”
“When you meet him, you feel better for being around him. There’s few people that are like that, but he is one of them, and he has every…
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