Monmouth U Football Expecting Breakout Season From T.J. Speight

WEST LONG BRANCH – Tom Petty once famously wrote that sometimes the waiting is the hardest part.

Just ask Monmouth University senior wide receiver T.J. Speight.

As a 5-foot-11, 160-pound freshman wide receiver out of Meade High School in Fort Meade, Maryland, whose senior year in 2020 was wiped out due to Covid, Speight was destined to redshirt his first year at Monmouth in 2021.

Depending on how you looked at it, that was a good thing for the raw but talented young wideout. It gave him a front-row seat every day to watch, learn, and study two of Monmouth’s all-time great wide receivers: three-time first-team All-Big South selection Lonnie Moore IV and three-time All-Big South pick Terrance Greene Jr.

As a sophomore, Speight began to see the field in a limited capacity while at the same time absorbing all he could from future All-American receiver Dymere Miller, who was about to have a breakout season in 2022, leading Monmouth in receptions (55), receiving yards (820), and receiving touchdowns (7) while being named second-team All-CAA. The following year (2023), Miller would shatter most of Monmouth’s single-season receiving records on the way to being named a consensus first-team All-American by almost every media outlet. Miller would, in turn, transfer to Rutgers for the 2024 season.

Opposite Miller, at the other wideout position during the 2022-23 seasons, Assanti Kearney also made a name for himself. Kearney finished the 2022 season with 37 receptions for 638 yards and four touchdowns, averaging 17.2 yards per reception. In 2023, Kearney added 32 catches for 494 yards and four touchdowns as the second option in the Hawks offense.

“I learned a lot from those guys,” said Speight. “It’s about putting in the work and creating your own opportunities. I have to step up into a bigger role; I have some huge shoes to fill. I have to come out here every day, play with an edge and earn it. I have confidence in myself, but I must also be humble and lead by example. I’m the older guy now and it’s up to me to lead the younger guys and bring everyone together as a team.”

Monmouth wide receiver coach and Speight’s lead recruiter out of high school, Kevin Callahan Jr., has witnessed Speight’s growth firsthand and has been impressed with how he’s handled it.

“His growth since freshman year has been tremendous both on the field, off the field and in a leadership role,” said Callahan Jr. “He had to wait his turn and study under some really talented players: Lonnie Moore IV and Dymere Miller and I think he’s taken that knowledge of watching them and he’s putting it on display in practice when he has the opportunity.”

Speight patiently waited his turn, fine-tuning his craft, until last season when he worked his way into the number three wide receiver spot behind Miller and Kearney while also returning kicks. He finished the season third on the team with 19 receptions for 181 yards and led the team in kickoff return yardage (315) on 10 returns for a 31.5-yard return average, ranking second in the CAA.

The speedy Speight also had a 98-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and was named the CAA Special Teams Player of the Week.

“T.J. has done a really good job,” added Callahan Jr. “He’s worked really hard this off-season and summer program, but T.J. has worked hard over his entire career here. He came in as someone who didn’t have much experience playing wide receiver; he was primarily a running back and kick returner and played some quarterback in high school. So, you’ve seen the growth, especially in his route running, ball skills and ability to break some tackles. I’m excited about what’s coming for him.”

As a junior at Meade High School in 2019, Speight was a second-team All-Anne Arundel County selection as a running back/defensive back. He had 800 total yards and seven touchdowns, averaging 9.6 yards per rush and 16.0 yards per catch, primarily on bubble screens and wheel routes, and added two defensive touchdowns. He was also an All-Anne Arundel County first-team selection as a guard in basketball, averaging 20.6 points per game, 3.9 rebounds per game, and 2.4 assists per game. His athleticism has always been one of his strong selling points.

Covid wiped out his senior season in 2020, so he concentrated on training and getting his recruiting tape out to coaches.

“Senior year, that was the worst feeling not having my senior year and not going to school,” said Speight of the Covid year. “They eventually gave us four games, but I chose not to play and decided to work out and prepare for college. I played running back, so I wasn’t even a receiver in high school, but I caught balls out of the backfield and took it to the house. I got my recruiting tape together and sent them out to a whole bunch of coaches, and Monmouth was the school that showed me the most love.”

COVID-19 not only negatively impacted the student-athlete but also played havoc with the recruiting process, making it difficult for coaches to evaluate players without seeing them play in person and without senior film.

“That was an interesting recruiting class because we just had to go off of the junior film,” said Callahan Jr. “We didn’t have summer camps; we didn’t have senior film, and everyone played a different number of games if they played at all. But he showed enough on junior film that we thought he was worthy of someone being on our team in the receiving room. We recruited him as a wide receiver. We believe you need to have a few things as a receiver. You need to have speed; you have to be able to change direction, elusiveness, and the ability to catch the ball. He had those traits, and the rest can be taught.”

Speight will have a new quarterback, Derek Robertson, throwing him the ball this season, but the connection between the two has already clicked and the transition has been smooth.

“D-Rob (Robertson) and I are really tight,” said Speight. “We roomed together in the summer and were on the field every day trying to get that chemistry going. I’m expecting big things out of him; he’s going to do his thing.”

Robertson is a graduate transfer from the University of Maine. Last season, he was a CAA Honorable Mention selection after throwing for 2,933 yards and 25 touchdowns, completing 258-of- 404 passes. He’s a Phil Steele Preseason All-CAA fourth-team selection and Preseason All-CAA Honorable Mention pick.

“Derek’s phenomenal,” said Callahan Jr. “All-CAA performer last year, sees the field unbelievably well, gets the ball out quickly and on time and is a true field general in every sense of the word. Derek and T.J. have done a great job of developing chemistry between each other and we’re going to see the results of that pretty soon.”

Monmouth has a history of great wide receivers, and Speight now has a golden opportunity to create his own legacy.

The wait is finally over for Speight.