Broad Run's Peeler Makes It Official
Broad Run's T.J Peeler Made His Decision On Sunday As To Where He Will Play In College. The Pitt Panthers Picked Up Peeler's Verbal Commitment To Add To Their Already Impressive List Of Recruits Heading To Pittsburgh In 2010.
Photo By: Jan Johnson / Gameday
ASHBURN, VA - GamedayMagazine.com has learned today that Broad Run senior tailback T.J Peeler has made a decision on the 3 offers he had received prior to this summer. The talented Peeler helped Broad Run storm to the Division 4 State Championship last winter, and was rewarded this past spring with offers from N.C State, Pitt, and West Virginia.
The 6'1 200lb tailback has the speed to go along with the power running between the tackles that the colleges love. He can get the short yardage for you, but what makes him special is his ability to get away in the open field. He ran a 4.59 in the 40 yard dash this past offseason, which was up from the 4.7 he ran just a year ago at the Gameday Gridiron Challenge in Ashburn at Velocity.
Peeler will also have more of an opportunity to showcase his talents this fall, when he takes over as the primary tailback in Broad Run's spread offense. Last year, Peeler split carries with All Gameday Player of the Year Breon Earl, which made things difficult for opposing defenses. Peeler got most of the inside carries, while Earl was Broad Run's threat on the edge.
Peeler still managed to score 18 touchdowns and averaged 9 yards per carry despite missing 3 games in his junior year due to injury. He finished with 1,145 yards on 129 attempts.
On Sunday, Peeler decided to continue his playing career at the collegiate level at Pitt. The Panthers were one of the early parties interested in his talents, and he should figure in nicely to their power running attack.
"T.J is really excited about his commitment to Pitt," said Burnett. "He really likes the coaching staff and I think the big thing was the fact that they really understand what T.J's talents are. Their offense is set up for a big back and they were looking for an I-Back that could run downhill, thus the reason T.J was high on their list."
Burnett said N.C State pushed hard, but Peeler was just really comfortable with the Panther program from the start, and that was a big factor in his decision.
"T.J and I really didn't want to see this go into the season with the whole recruiting process," Burnett said. "I am really excited for him and I believe that Pitt is getting the perfect type of tailback for their system."
Stay tuned for more recruiting coverage and preseason football articles right here online at GamedayMagazine.com.
