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TJ Conley is not normally a vocal person. While Conley had been Fayetteville-Manlius’ go-to running back since his sophomore season, most of his senior teammates were the vocal leaders of the team. But heading into his final season with the Hornets, fresh off a 1,000-yard rushing season, Conley was at the forefront of the team as a leader.

“I’m still working on it, but (I’m trying) to lead by example,” Conley said. 

Last Friday, Conley rushed for 207 yards and scored two touchdowns in F-M’s 29-20 win over West Genesee. Through three contests, the senior back has averaged over 215 yards per game with nine rushing touchdowns and a receiving touchdown. The Hornets are undefeated, outscoring opponents 126-20 in their opening stretch. 

Despite his offensive prowess, Conley started for the Hornets at linebacker in his first two seasons on the varsity team. Conley’s father, Dan, played linebacker at SU from 1990 to 1994. When Conley started playing in Pop Warner leagues, he preferred to be on the defensive end.

With the Hornets running “college-level schemes” offensively and defensively, F-M’s head coach Dan Sullivan said Conley’s biggest improvement has come from his ability to understand the complex systems on both sides of the ball, adding that the senior has been a “swiss army knife” for the team.  

“Mentally, he’s got the game down,” Sullivan said. 

Sullivan said he could put Conley at cornerback, knowing that the opponent wouldn’t throw to that side the entire game. But due to his success with the ball in his hands, Sullivan has kept him on the offense since the start of the 2022 season.  

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Conley’s mother, Jennifer, said Conley’s commitment to watching film helped him mature. After each game, Conley watches the film of his performance, studying other teams as well. He also watches videos of professional training and implements those workouts into his own routine.  

“He’s always physically challenging himself,” Jennifer said. 

While Conley’s development caught the eye of his coach from a cerebral standpoint, Sullivan also said that Conley’s physical prowess has always complemented his football skills well. Conley also plays lacrosse for the Hornets in the spring, and Sullivan said the senior had that “lacrosse run to him” with a “very strong lower body.”

“He’s always been really athletic and smooth,” Sullivan said. “He’s really developed his body to where he looks like a football player.”

Sullivan compared Conley to former NFL player Timothy Dwight because of his speed and power. Conley said that he used to play too fast when he was younger, and with his athletic advantage over most central New York players, Sullivan said Conley has had to improve on waiting for his blocks to get set on run plays. But the changes to his play have been immediately apparent this year, as he’s already north of 600 rushing yards. 

“When we’re playing teams that are just as fast and gifted as us, you’re going to have to use blockers,” Sullivan said. “So that’s not that easy to work on.”

The Hornets lost in the Class A Championship semifinals to Christian Brothers Academy last season with Conley at the helm of its offense. Now, they’re looking to build on 2021’s success and make it further this season. 

With the ability to play football or lacrosse at the college level, Conley will soon have a decision to make. Though that could seem daunting to a high school student

Even though that reality could seem daunting to a high school student-athlete, Jennifer said that Conley might be the exception. 

“I would tease that he was kind of like an old man in a young man’s body,” Jennifer said. “He’s just a different kid.”

Published on September 20, 2022 at 11:20 pm