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Iowa State University Athletics
Trust And Development Pays Off For Tampa and Iowa State
08.25.2023 | Football
By Will Dehmel
There's a brief moment during the video when you wonder if T.J. Tampa is playing the wrong sport.
He's a good eight feet from the hoop when he springs off his left foot, jerks the ball behind his head, and careens through the air before dunking it decisively.
The most shocking part of the whole act: his teammates don't look the least bit surprised.
They know talent when they see it. Why should they be?
The bounce is crazy 😳
— Overtime (@overtime) April 22, 2021
(via iamjordan.06/TikTok) pic.twitter.com/XAauAsHM6a
Tampa's teammates at Iowa State, too, knew talent before he even committed to the team.
In June of 2019, entering his senior year at Lakewood High School in St. Petersburg, Florida, Tampa went on an unofficial visit to Iowa State. When his flight home got delayed, he decided to join the next day's camp.
"[The coaches] were like, 'Well, we have a camp tomorrow, so you might as well come out and get to catch the ball,'" Tampa said.
With Iowa State already his top choice, Tampa decided to stay. Besides, Aidan Bouman, a quarterback commit in Tampa's class, was at the camp. Tampa figured he'd catch some passes from his future teammate and start to build the chemistry.
"And then it got towards the end of the camp, and we were doing one-on-ones, and Anthony Johnson Jr. wanted me to get some reps at corner," Tampa said.
Johnson, an Iowa State defensive back drafted in the seventh round by the Packers, could tell Tampa would be a good DB.
The caveat? Aside from junior year of high school, Tampa had never played defense.
Regardless, Tampa impressed. After committing in August and playing out his senior year, head coach Matt Campbell called Tampa and asked if he wanted to play DB.
"I was getting a lot of talk from different people that were like, 'You should do it, you should do it,'" Tampa said. "I didn't really want to do it at first, but then once I got the call I was like, 'I might as well try.'"
His first summer at Iowa State, Tampa participated as an athlete, taking reps at both receiver and defensive back.
"By the time the season came around, they already knew I was playing DB," Tampa said with a smirk. "Once minicamp came around, I was at DB the whole time."
The position, however, took some getting used to.
"It was fun to play — I was just missing catching the ball all the time, having the ball in my hand," Tampa explained. "It was definitely fun to learn a new position. I didn't expect it to be as hard as it is."
But coming off a 2022 season where Tampa was named Second Team All-Big 12, Tampa has clearly gotten over that hump. He's now the top cornerback returning to the Big 12 and was named Preseason All-Big 12.
Playing wide receiver in high school — and basketball, he later said — certainly helped him achieve this success.
"It definitely helps with route recognition, knowing what receivers want to do to get to a certain spot," Tampa said. "Tendencies and things like that. I've seen a lot of offenses, I see what people like to do in certain formations, so it's definitely easy now."
Also responsible for his success, Tampa said, is the Iowa State coaching staff.
"They do a great job of developing players, especially trying to be the best player they can be and person they can be," Tampa said. "The road for me wasn't always easy. I made some mistakes, I got in the game and wasn't prepared, and they stuck to me, made sure I was getting better every day. And it made me who I am today, so I'm proud of that."
Something Tampa is still working on, though, is his role as a vocal leader.
"I'm definitely heading towards that direction," Tampa said. "Because of course I can do that. I just gotta break out of the shell that I'm in. And a lot of young guys are helping me — coaches are helping me."
The relative youth of the Iowa State team lends itself well to that development, Tampa explained.
"It's definitely great being a leader, having younger guys that are willing to pay attention and willing to listen, so it's pretty easy being a leader on this team."
Tampa is committed to teaching his teammates not just on the football field.
"I've been through highs and lows, so I feel like sharing my wisdom to younger guys is perfect," he said. "I've been through a lot of things that they need to know so they can be ready to handle those types of things."
Few of them, I assume, have appeared as high school basketball players on a Tweet that garnered over 115,000 views.
A thing he wants them all to experience together?
"A Big 12 Championship," Tampa said. "That's the main goal."
T.J. Tampa is a senior defensive back from St. Petersburg, Florida, majoring in communications. He's been named to the Bednarik Award, Jim Thorpe Award and Nagurski Trophy Watch List. Follow T.J. now on Twitter and Instagram.
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