As the Virginia football team prepares to take on North Carolina, one of its players in particular has a lot more familiarity and emotional attachment going into this game. That individual is T.J. Thorpe.
As a member of North Carolina’s football team for three seasons, he excelled as a football player and had the game-winning catch in last season’s meeting between these two rivals. His touchdown lifted the Heels to a 28-27 victory over the Hoos at Scott Stadium. Ultimately, however, he was unhappy with his position in the UNC program. Now as he plays for the football team he once sought to defeat, he joins together with his new family to bring about that same victorious feeling against his old team.
Thorpe explained his reasons for leaving UNC when he said: “Anything you can think, I’ve pretty much been through as far as my time at Carolina. Ultimately, me and my family just thought it was probably best for me to change scenery.”
He made it clear that, “it was no bad blood between me and the coaches or anything like that. There’s no revenge that I feel like I need to have. It just wasn’t a good fit and I think everything worked out for the best.”
As Thorpe reflected on how this weekend will feel going up against his old team, he said, “Just looking at all the guys I used to be in the locker room with, it was kind of weird.”
Virginia coach Mike London reiterated the importance of a clear mindset that is needed as Thorpe prepares for this game.
“The one thing that you have to do is you’ve got to play on the field,” London said. “You can’t play the game in social media. You can’t play the game talking about it. You’ve got to play it by executing it.”
The Cavaliers enter this week’s matchup off a game with better execution, a triple overtime win against Syracuse. Regarding this past weekend’s victory over the Orange, Thorpe said he was “about as happy as I’ve ever been.”
It’s clear that Thorpe feels that he’s found his new home in Virginia. On the season, he has 8 catches for 176 yards and 1 touchdown. He’s posted those numbers in essentially three games (he played sparingly against William & Mary) after starting the season on the shelf with a broken right clavicle.
“But at the end of the day, I’m glad I’m in the position I’m in now,” Thorpe said. “I have a new set of brothers, a new family, and as far as I’m concerned, they’re another opponent, another opportunity.”
