TJ Moore winds up where he was supposed to be, doing what he was born to do

TJ Moore says Dabo Swinney as a role model guided him to Clemson despite a new age in college football bringing open monetary offers.

David Hood - Senior Writer - Wednesday, September 11 2024

CLEMSON – T.J. Moore was born to play football. Born to be a wide receiver.

Moore, a true freshman, scored his first career touchdown on a 29-yard pass from Cade Klubnik and had three catches for 44 yards total in the Tigers’ 66-20 victory over Appalachian State Saturday night in Death Valley.

The origins of his football career stretch back to the hot practice sidelines at Mesa (AZ) Community College. His father, Terrance, is a native of Key West, FL, who played at Key West High School and then moved on to Butler Community College in Kansas. His wife, Alexandra, became pregnant with TJ, and the Moore family took a year away from football to focus on the birth of their son.

However, with TJ just a few weeks old, Terrance moved the family to Mesa, and TJ was on the sidelines, in newborn diapers, with Alexandra. After a year in Arizona, the family moved to California. No, not the state with the movie stars, Pacific beaches, and sunny weather—California, Pennsylvania, where Terrance compiled 109 catches for 1753 yards and 21 touchdowns for the Vulcans of California University, a Division II program.

TJ and Alexandra were there every step of the way, with TJ hanging out with the players. Every time he saw a football, he would simply take off and run a route, expecting an adult to toss a ball his way.

“My dad was in college when he had me, and I’d always be around him and his teammates,” Moore told TigerNet Tuesday. “It was just a good environment for me and that really made me see that I wanted to play football.”

The family moved back to Key West when Terrance’s football career ended, and TJ’s was just beginning. However, growing up on the move left a lasting impression on the youngster.

“We've moved plenty of places. Got to meet plenty of my dad's friends,” Moore said. “I got to learn from them specifically. I've met tons of people now. Anytime I go anywhere new, I shake somebody's hand, introduce myself, meet new people. I like to learn from my family's friends. They all have different types of knowledge. They're not the same person, and I feel like that brought me to be the person I am now.”

The Moores quickly realized TJ’s potential, and he spent his first season of football playing on the…. offensive line.

“That was funny. I had number 62. It was crazy,” Moore said with a laugh. “Yeah, it was the year after that I started making plays, and they saw that I had some type of speed, so they were like, okay, let's try me at running back, and from there, it started to grow and grow and grow.”

Terrance began working with his son, and the first thing he taught him? Make sure you catch the ball first. That led to the acrobatic one-handed catches TJ makes today.

“Since I first started playing in an athletic position, my dad always has trained me to do stuff like that. He makes sure that you catch the ball first, no matter if it's one hand, two hands, preferably two hands, but if needs to be one hand, then one hand,” Moore said. “He'll throw a tennis ball, he'll go right, I’ll catch it with my right hand. Tennis ball left, the left hand he'll drop and make me react to it. All that type of stuff. Maybe since I was nine, since we lived in Key West, it’s just been me and him training.”

The family moved to Tampa, and Moore enrolled at Tampa Catholic. As a senior, Moore caught 50 passes for 1272 yards and 17 touchdowns, contributing to Tampa Catholic’s reaching the second round of Florida’s 2M playoffs. During the All-American Bowl, he garnered a game-high 10 passes for 166 yards and 2 TDs. After hitting memorable games of his career, he was ranked No. 21 overall by 247Sports analysts, who praised him by saying that “Moore reminds of all the dynamic wide receivers Clemson used to have on its roster.”

During his high school career, both his grandfather and father followed the offense down the field, watching TJ’s every move. His dad even whistled to let TJ know where he was. That tradition continues to today.

“It means a lot to me because ever since my dad was on his football journey, we've always been real tight. So, seeing him and my grandpa at the games, it just means a lot,” Moore said. “And even at the college games, I can hear his whistle in the crowd. I hear a lot of people, but I hear his whistle out of everybody. It's crazy. It is really just to get my attention, let me know it's okay and just to let me know he's there.”

His mother has been his rock.

“My mom has been more of on the mental side. She's always taught me, she's always been there to ask me if anything was wrong,” Moore said. “She was always there when I was sad or if I was mad or if I was happy. She's just always been a shoulder I could go to whenever I needed it.”

How did Moore, who had offers from most of the big-time programs in the country, wind up at Clemson?

“My recruiting process, it didn't start until after spring of my sophomore year, and at first it started off slow, but then after one game it started to blow up,” he said. And when it came down to making my final decision, there were teams throwing money at me, this and that, trying to bribe me. But Clemson felt right. Clemson is what I was taught to want when I was a kid. You have the proper role models, you have Coach Swinney, who is a great role model. As a matter of fact, everything he does, I just really appreciate.

“He stops any player, it doesn't matter who it is, he at least says hi to you at least three or four times a day. No matter if he's seen you or not, he'll text you. He calls my mom; he keeps in great contact with my family. I just really respect Coach Swinney, and that's what made me gravitate toward Clemson. Clemson, in general, made me feel great, and I just knew that was the right decision.”