By Josh Perry || HockomockSports.com Managing Editor
TJ Guy dominated during his Mansfield High football career. He won a state title as a junior (capped by a 41-0 rout of Lincoln-Sudbury at Gillette Stadium), was a three-time all-star who was named Kelley-Rex MVP during his senior year (which was played between winter and spring because of the pandemic), and was counted on to play every snap on both sides of the ball.
Everyone on the roster at the University of Michigan was likely the best player on their respective high school teams, racking up awards and accolades. It is rare to step onto the Ann Arbor campus and walk straight into the starting lineup. Guy has had to bide his time, but now the senior edge rusher is starting to make his mark and show the skills that made his high school opponents gush about how they expected him to be playing on Sundays.
“It’s been fun to be kind of responsible for what’s going on on the field and having more opportunities,” Guy said in a phone call during Michigan’s November bye week. “Just out here having fun, for real.”
Guy was open about the mental challenges he faced, particularly in his first two seasons, as he transitioned from being the star of a team to a player who was fighting to get on the field and going up against players who are now standouts in the NFL.
“It’s definitely been different, something I haven’t been used to my whole life,” he reflected. “Everything that I’ve been through has been a lesson and something that I’ll use at the next level. Definitely a challenging experience mentally but looking back it’s what made me who I am.”
“My sophomore year, I would say it got a little dark emotionally and I wasn’t all the way in it, but it was lessons that I needed to learn in terms of sticking with something that you really want to do and achieving it no matter what the obstacle is. I didn’t think about transferring, but it was a dark, emotional time early on.”
He played in two games and made two tackles as a freshman, competing for a spot on the defensive line against the likes of Kris Jenkins (Cincinnati Bengals), Christopher Hinton (Los Angeles Rams), and Aidan Hutchinson (Detroit Lions). As a sophomore, Guy appeared in 10 games, including six on defense, and made four tackles.
With the Wolverines putting together an impressive run through the early season, Guy made nine of his 11 appearances as a junior on defense and he recorded 10 tackles (including 1.5 for loss), a sack, and a quarterback hurry. This year, Guy has set new career highs with 26 total tackles, 4.5 sacks, and five hurries.
The weekend before he spoke to HockomockSports.com, Guy was a standout for the Michigan defense against No. 8 Indiana. He made five tackles, including 2.5 for a loss, and had a pair of sacks, as Michigan’s second-half rally came up just short.
“Ever since I’ve been here, I’ve been surrounded by like-minded people and just winning people and I’ve had great examples from players to coaching staff to regular staff in the building of just how to be a good person and how to get better everyday,” Guy said about his growth as a player and person over the last four years.
His advice to other players going through a similar situation early in their collegiate career?
“First, you have to believe in your ability and yourself,” he said. “Always bet on yourself and, no matter what anybody says or thinks, if you believe you can get something done, then you work on it until it’s done. Just trust the process, don’t take no easy way out, if you want to compete with the best then go compete with the best and work until you’re the best.”
Now a veteran, with four years in the program, Guy considers it important to share his perspective with younger players and to uphold the standard that he was taught when he first got to Ann Arbor.
“I definitely feel a responsibility to lead by good actions first and foremost,” he explained. “Just knowing that you’re coming into a program like Michigan, you know it’s going to be hard to play right away but I tell the guys all the time, just stick with it and your time will come. Just focus on getting better and you’ll be the best that you can be when it’s your opportunity to play.”
The season before he got to Michigan, the Wolverines were 2-4 in a season shortened due to the pandemic. Guy remarked that his freshman class was intent on helping turn things around, which the Wolverines did, going 40-3 over the next three years, making the College Football Playoffs twice, and of course going 15-0 and winning the national championship last fall.
“It’s going to be something that I carry with me for the rest of my life,” Guy said. “The brotherhood that I’ve created with everybody here and everyone that was a part of it is just really special. It was really special and I’m super blessed.”
Controversy surrounded the Wolverines last season, as head coach Jim Harbaugh was suspended for several games and there were investigations into sign-stealing, but Guy said that all of the noise outside the program only made the Michigan locker room tighter.
“We just really bought into sticking together, ‘Michigan vs. everybody,’ and having each other’s backs before anything,” he said. “I would say that was one of the tightest groups I’ve been part of for sure. We stood tall together and bonded better over that.”
At the end of the season, as the confetti rained down at NRG Stadium, following Michigan’s 34-13 win over Washington in the final, Guy was in awe of what the Wolverines were able to accomplish.
He said, “The game had been decided way before the final seconds ticked off but even after the clock hit triple zeros it was hard to believe and it was just crazy that we made it to the top of college football. It was just surreal.” How does that compare to his Super Bowl title at Mansfield? “Maybe the high school one felt a little more cool because I was directly responsible for that but nonetheless both experiences were the best you can get.”
This has not been a banner season for the Wolverines. Harbaugh left for the NFL and took several of the staff with him. Michigan is 5-5 under first-year coach Sherrone Moore with two games left in the regular season. The defending champions have had a target on their backs in a very competitive year for the Big Ten (four teams in the top five in the latest AP rankings).
“It’s been challenging with everything not going the way that we wanted it to go but God has a plan for everything and I think there’s a lesson to be learned in everything we go through,” Guy explained. “Life just kind of hit us as a team, as a unit, and we’ve got to respond.”
Asked what his goals are for the rest of the season, he replied, “Just seeing good character and good fight from the rest of the team would be the best possible outcome right now.”
Guy has another season of eligibility remaining and said that he has options to explore in the offseason, including a return to Michigan, but he isn’t focusing on that just yet. One thing Guy is adamant about is that he has a lot more football to play whenever his college career ends.
“I don’t think this is close to the end of my football-playing career,” he said. “I’m appreciative of the college experience for sure, but I’m not done with football.”
Michigan will be back at the Big House for senior day on Saturday, Nov. 23 to face Northwestern.
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