In lieu of Wednesday being National Signing Day it only made sense to look back on some of the great players who played their high school and college football in the state of Michigan. This week for where are they Wednesday we look at T.J. Duckett, who was a big name at Michigan State but before getting there was making a name for himself in Kalamazoo Michigan.
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Picking Duckett for this was a bit biased, as he is one of the biggest named players to come from my former high school Loy Norrix. If you were anywhere around the football program you knew about Duckett and more than likely met him at least once. I met him once in my gym class my freshman year due only because his father was my teacher and he just wanted to hang out for the day. Only maybe two things sit in front of that moment in my high school career, but I digress, you came here to read about T.J. Duckett, not me.
Duckett made his name big in the state in his time at Loy Norrix between 1996 and 1998. In his senior season Duckett was named Parade Magazine and Rivalnet National Player of the Year. He was a linebacker and also a quarterback while at Loy Norrix. The season prior he was Rivals High School Junior of the Year.
In his junior season he registered 140 tackles and three sacks. On the offensive side of the ball Duckett threw for 2,080 total yards and 20 touchdowns. He followed up with big numbers again in his senior year. He rushed for 1,623 yards and had 21 touchdowns, while throwing 920 yards and 9 touchdowns.
While in high school he also participated in track and field. He holds the school and states record in the shot put. He was a three-time Class-A State Champion in the shot put as well. Duckett’s father is the varsity track and field coach at Loy Norrix along with being a gym teacher.
After high school, Duckett went to Michigan State where he was the starting running back from the 1999 season to the 2001 season. While at Michigan State he ran for 3,379 yards and 29 touchdowns. He also had 22 receptions for 151 yards with one touchdown.
That one touchdown was as time experienced against Michigan in 2001 as the Spartans upset the Wolverines 26-24.
When the National Football League draft rolled around many thought Duckett would go sometime in the first round. Those many people were right, he went 18th overall to the Atlanta Falcons in the 2002 NFL draft.
In Atlanta he was apart of the Falcons “DVD” which was Warrick Dunn, Michael Vick, and himself. They were a rushing force for the Falcons from the 2003 to 2005 season for the team. In 2006 Duckett was traded to the Washington Redskins where he ended up rushing for a career low 132 yards.
In 2007 Duckett came home when he signed with the Detroit Lions. He rushed for 335 yards and 4 touchdowns. He only spent a season with the Lions before the Seattle Seashawks signed him to a five-year contract worth 14 million dollars. He played one season with the Seahawks but 2008 was his last season in the NFL.
Today T.J. Duckett can be found doing many charity projects in his community of Kalamazoo. He has his own non-profit company that sells t-shirts and other clothing items called Simple-T. He also talks to middle to high school aged kids and runs football camps throughout the summer in Kalamazoo.