Transfer pressure motivates FAMU's Lawrence

T.J. Lawrence has been on the Florida A&M practice field for two days and already he's feeling the pressure of being a Division I transfer — not any Division I, though. The University of Florida.

"I just feel like sometimes in practice if I drop a pass, I'm not supposed to drop anything," Lawrence said Friday. "I'm not supposed to make a mistake. That's what goes through my head when I'm practicing. I feel it's a respect thing, though." Lawrence left UF's program just before the start of preseason camp, but before he came to FAMU last week he'd taken a visit to a junior college.

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Former UF Receiver T.J. Lawrence Heading to Florida A&M

It didn't take long for T.J. Lawrence to make a decision on where he'd be going next after getting his release from University of Florida last week. Lawrence, a former Kathleen High School star receiver, made a surprising announcement Wednesday that he will be suiting up for Florida A&M's football team this season while also getting his baseball career started back up with the Rattlers.

“It's a big shocker because a lot of people wouldn't expect Florida A&M University, but I'm going there to be a two-sport athlete,” Lawrence told The Ledger in a phone interview. The redshirt sophomore said FAMU “kind of popped up” on his radar a couple of days after he got his release from UF, and he's looking forward to competing for a starting spot on the football field right away at the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision (formerly I-AA) level. He'll also be looked at in the return game as well.

“I think that excites me more than anything the fact that I'm going to play this year because I've been waiting like forever,” he said. “That's the biggest excitement, the fact that I get to play with players I played with in high school and players I played against in high school.” Lawrence will be reunited with former Kathleen teammate Adrian Smith, who is also a receiver at FAMU. “I'm actually moving in with him,” said Lawrence, who will be in Tallahassee on Friday.

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The T.J. Lawrence Story:

• First-Team All-State Honors senior season at Kathleen H.S., Lakeland, Florida
• Caught 70 passes and scored 12 touchdowns as senior
• Rated Four-star prospect coming out of high school
• Under Armour All-American senior season
• Chose the FAMU Rattlers over South Florida, Eastern Kentucky, South Alabama, Washington State and Pearl River Community College
• Requested release from Florida football scholarship due to lack of playing time.
• 6-2/190 WR; 4.55 in 40 yard dash - Will play both football and baseball at FAMU

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