While his older brother, Jonathan, recently completed his first season as a member of the Mountaineers basketball team, Powell said that was just a coincidence.
That is just as well because Jonathan is transferring to North Carolina.
“When my brother was there, I never really got to see the campus and facilities as much,” Taj said. “It would have been nice to be at the same place, but sometimes it just don’t work out like that.”
The younger Powell already has some experience blazing his own trail, having transferred to Springfield a year ago after suiting up for Centerville as a sophomore.
Listed at 6-foot-3, 193 pounds, he was an honorable mention All-GWOC outside linebacker last fall when he made 47 tackles, including seven for loss and 2.5 sacks.
That helped him become a three-star prospect via rivals.com and helped him garner lots of attention from college football coaches.
Springfield head coach Maurice Douglass expressed some surprise Powell made his college decision in the first half of April, but he is looking forward to see how the youngster fits in the program of Rodriquez, who has some experience recruiting Douglass’ players.
He signed three from Trotwood-Madison (Roy Roundtree, Brandon Moore and Michael Shaw) when he was the coach at Michigan from 2008-10 then brought in quarterback Te’Sean Smoot from Springfield three years ago when he was the head coach at Jacksonville State.
“I think it will be a good fit for him,” Douglass said. “It’s close to home. His mom can watch him play. Not too far from seeing Big Bro if he wants to go over to Chapel Hill, so it’s a good fit for him.
“He’s excited about the opportunity. He likes the package they run for him. He’s gonna get a chance to play a little safety. He’ll fit in well down there next season.”
Credit: Bill Lackey
Credit: Bill Lackey
While he wasn’t sure if Rodriguez plans to install exactly the same 3-3-5 defense he has traditionally favored during his decades-long coaching tenure, Powell said the staff has a specific plan for him.
“I feel like that does work well with me because of the position they’re recruiting me, a nickel back,” Powell said. “That’s what’s in my game a lot, coming off the edge blitzing and dropping into coverage a lot. So that will be a skill set I have they can use to their advantage.”
Between now and then, he has a goal of helping the Wildcats bounce back from a 6-5 season that followed three straight trips to the Division I state championship game.
That starts with making sure weight room attendance is strong.
“Just being here for a full year has been a big change, but it’s also been a really good change,” Powell said. “Coming to Springfield from Centerville, it really shows how much the coaches care about you. They want to get your name out there, and the tradition that Springfield has is really big. Back-to-back-to-back state championship games is really big for the program, and what they’ve built. The player development is really good, too.”
While the younger classes have some promise as well, Powell is one of multiple Springfield juniors to receive at least on NCAA Division I FBS offer so far.
That group also includes All-GWOC defensive tackle Royce Rogers (Buffalo, Kent State), defensive back Sincere Keyes (Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan) and running back/defensive back Deontre Long (Toledo).
All of them will hope to impress college coaches who will be coming to campus soon to do spring evaluations, in particular May 5 for the annual GWOC Scouting Showcase.
Every school in the league plans to open its doors to coaches that day.
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