T.J. Chase had himself a great sophomore year with the Plant City Raiders. Averaging 20.1 yards per catch, he helped lead his team to a playoff berth and racked up more than 20 football scholarship offers from NCAA Division I schools.
He hasn’t given any of them a verbal commitment yet, but he’s already made one game-changing decision — to transfer to IMG Academy, a Bradenton-based preparatory school for student-athletes determined to play collegiate sports.
“I wanted a better education, and to get ready for college,” Chase says. “And the football part is, they have great coaches there. Some of them played in college, and some played in the NFL, so learning from them should be a good experience.”
It wasn’t a sudden decision, either.
“Back in March, I talked to some of my teammates,” Chase says. “I just told them that I’m taking it as an opportunity. A once-in-a-lifetime chance. I’m going to just run with it.”
QUITE AN OPPORTUNITY
The difference between IMG and other private schools is that this one is exclusively for student-athletes: Kids don’t go there if they’re not going to play sports.
Playing sports for IMG, though, gives these student-athletes a completely different experience than anything they can get at a public high school, or most privates. The campus is home to top-of-the-line athletic training facilities, and part of the yearly cost even covers an in-house nutritionist to take care of everyone’s dietary needs.
“Our guys have schedules made for them, food prepared for them, they get physically ready for the NFL Combine,” wide receivers coach E.G. Green says. “They’ve done a good job before I came, and they’ll continue, I think, to provide excellent service for NFL, NBA, and we even have MLB players here, too.”
Green, who has been with the program for 18 months, says IMG’s facilities attract a lot of professional athletes that wish to train in an advanced environment. Sticking to football, players such as Cam Newton, Russell Wilson, Luke Kuechly and Gerald McCoy are no strangers to the campus.
And the coaching staff is populated with men who have experience on the collegiate and professional levels — including head coach Chris Weinke, best-known for winning a Heisman and a national title at Florida State University. Green, also a Seminole, played with the Indianapolis Colts for four years before leaving to become a coach.
He’s seen his fair share of talented athletes but was excited to talk about Chase, in particular.
CHASE’S CAREER
“It may be a little premature, but T.J. has a lot of Larry Fitzgerald in him,” Green says. “Great route-runner, great hands, great body control, runs well after the catch — he pretty much does everything excellent. He can do pretty much everything — he has no weakness. He’s got it all. Definitely one of the best football players in the nation, in his class.”
That’s very high praise for an incoming junior, but Chase’s reputation has spoken for itself lately. After hitting 20 offers, the former Raider made the 2016 ESPN Top 300 list and has earned a four-star rating.
“That was kind of exciting, but I think I’m a little underrated,” Chase says. “I’m going to work on that.”
The stakes are going to be different, though.
“We don’t play for a state championship or anything of that nature,” Green says. “It’s really about the development of the player. … We want to play the best. We want to schedule the best. We want to be considered one of the best teams in the state, or nation, for that matter — but we really want to develop the kids. Iron sharpens iron.”
No more heated district rivalry games with Durant and Strawberry Crest, or chances to make a run in the FHSAA playoffs. Chase knows it’s going to be a much different atmosphere from Plant City High School.
“I’m going to miss playing under the Friday night lights with the Raiders, but I’m going to have to move on,” Chase says. “I have to focus on what I have to do.”
It’s not uncommon to see athletes switch schools to gain better opportunities for collegiate exposure. But, what does this do for Chase — a junior who already has plenty of offers and attention from many of the NCAA’s top programs?
“Everything my wide receivers coach learned from college and the NFL, he’s going to teach me,” Chase says. “I’m going to be at the top. I have the talent already, I just need to maximize it.”
One could say this just means Chase gets to train at world-class facilities while the recruiting spotlights stay on him. His coaches, though, believe that the transfer will turn more scouts’ heads — and pens — in his direction.
“They did an excellent job, at Plant City, in providing T.J. opportunities to excel on and off the field,” Green says. “He’s already had great exposure. I think that his exposure will only grow, obviously, with his play. I think people are interested, and want to know more about him.”
Contact Justin Kline at jkline@plantcityobserver.com.
INSIDE IMG
Beyond being a great place for an athlete to train, IMG Academy is a college preparatory school. Day-to-day activities are set up in such a way to help student-athletes gets used to the college lifestyle, so that they don’t feel like fish out of water when they really do get to college. This includes living in a dorm, although that isn’t mandatory.
Although many of its programs are well-respected, IMG Academy is perhaps best-known for the Bollettieri Tennis Program — which has produced and trained names like Maria Sharapova, the Williams sisters and Andre Agassi.
To keep up with the cost of its resources, IMG does charge for tuition, room and board, and more — just like a real university — by the year. For the 2014-15 school year, a high school student’s tuition package (boarding included) costs $68,500 per year. Financial aid programs are available for students that need help.
For more information, visit the school’s website at imgacademy.com.