Virginia Luther wasn’t just the loudest cheerleader in the stands at football games. She also kept a keen eye for scouting for the talent of her eight children.
Anyone who has watched Virginia yell “Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Let’s go!” into her megaphone during games at Port Charlotte High School in Florida knows she was going to get in her element on “JETS! Planes! Planes! Planes! Perform this fall at MetLife Stadium.
But Virginia died unexpectedly in her sleep in December 2019 – the point at which her nine children were determined to make their dreams a reality.
Mission accomplished last month, when TJ Luther, a wide receiver, signed with the Jets after dropping out of FCS Gardner-Webb.
“She always told me when I was young that I would be an NFL player. She talked that into being,” TJ told The Post after a recent practice. “I definitely honor her. She already knew I’d be the first generation out of college, and I told her I’d make it to the league.”
Some would say TJ’s first NFL contract was predetermined at birth. or months earlier in the womb.
“Even when TJ was a baby in her stomach, it was kind of like football,” Virgil Luther, TJ’s father, said with a laugh. “She always had a big belly, and it was referred to there as a football pointy head, so she was like, ‘This is NFL players. “Everything happened and happened as God allowed.”
But even the prophetic Virginia could not have predicted TJ’s path.
All 32 NFL teams sent representatives to Boiling Springs, NC, for Gardner-Webb football practices this past fall to scout running back Narii Gathier.
But more serious attendees began asking questions about the 5-foot-11, 189-pound Luther — an uncommon speedster signed by head coach Trey Lamb as a transfer from Wofford.
A scholarship was opened for TJ because Izaiah Gathings moved to Middle Tennessee.
Two years later, Gathings, now a tight end, was also an undrafted rookie vying for a roster spot with the Jets.
“If Gathier isn’t on our list, I don’t think we’re even having that conversation. Or, if Gathings doesn’t move, I don’t think we’re having that conversation,” said Lamb. “It’s kind of unique how that all fell into place for TJ
“I would be surprised if he didn’t play in the league for a long time, whether it was with the Jets or someone else. He’d have a chance to stay because he runs so well.”
to become a rabbit
Luthers arrived at church, school, and practice in a clown car.
Or so it seemed.
Technically, it was a gray Ford 250 truck that was nicknamed “The Luther Bus.”
“Sometimes we’d take our neighbor’s kids to come over to play or watch, and people would say, ‘How many people are getting out of that truck?'” Virgil said. Here comes another, here comes another, here comes another. “
The 45-minute drive from their home in Arcadia, Florida, to Port Charlotte started because the local coaches didn’t give TJ a chance to play.
Virgil was the unofficial cheerleading coach for his wife.
“TJ used to prank all the boys in practice and say, ‘When are you going to give him a chance at a game?'” Virgil said. “I ended up taking all my boys out [of that program] Because when you make one of us wrong, you all make a mistake.”
If the family size was for crowded car rides, this created a competitive line that served children well sportingly.
“Backyard football, the games, who eats the most? Anything we could think of that we all do collectively as a family was competition,” TJ said. “We always had that edge about us and we think iron makes iron. We used to chase rabbits—they were fast, I won’t lie—but that would have caught our winds.”
Years later, TJ took on the role of a bunny that defensive backs couldn’t corner.
He averaged 18.5 yards per catch — the second-highest by a Giants third-round pick Jalen Hyatt of Tennessee among all FBS and FCS receivers with at least 63 catches — on his way to 1,186 yards and eight touchdowns last season.
Luther ran the 4.4-second 40-yard dash at Gardner-Webb and was timed at 4.45 seconds on Pro Day. He packed the pace with a 39-inch vertical jump.
Comparing it to Cardinals receiver Marquis Brown, Lamb said, “He’s a ‘Hollywood’ brown, he’s kind of the best coverage, and he’s a real ‘Z’ receiver.” The kick is great and competitive. Another road run, a cross road run, a go road run, that’s his cup of tea—a great gaming machine waiting to happen.”
With every road he takes for The Jets, TJ wants to renew his younger siblings’ faith in dreaming big after tragedy.
“It’s still hard to think about,” he said of Virginia’s death, “It feels like it was yesterday.” “But I know that all that you have sacrificed for us has paid off.”
Engine does not die
The morning after TJ broke out with a career-high 188 yards in Week 2 last season at Coastal Carolina, he still beat the coaches at the facility to watch the movie.
Lamb reassured scouts that the young receiver’s level of commitment was as impressive as his wheels.
“When my mom passed away, I knew then that I was going to achieve everything she said I was going to do,” TJ said. “I had an engine and a fire in me that wouldn’t go out. I wasn’t looking forward to the competition, I was going against it at the time, because I knew there was better competition out there, so I prepared myself for that. I knew I had to put in a little more work than average.” “.
Coaches often worry about players leaving their watchful eye on campus during school breaks.
Lamb never thought TJ would find trouble – it was no coincidence that Virginia had spent years honing a piercing look to impress her boys, and Virgil had warned them to stay away whenever a situation might make them “guilty of association.”
“We’ve never had a problem with him doing what he’s not supposed to do off the field,” said Lamb. “But when he left for five weeks before summer school, he lost 15 pounds. Then he would come back and get everything back.”
Big dinners were another part of Luther’s life that was missing without Virginia.
Virgil worked for hours and Virginia worked magic with rice in a small pot or oxtail in an air fryer.
“It always turned nothing into something,” said TJ. “We didn’t grow up much, but she found a way to put food on the table every day. And it was good every time.”
The Chargers, Colts, and Patriots have reportedly arranged one-on-one contacts in advance with an expected late-round pick.
He still “feels in love” with Jets receivers coach Zach Ezzani, even after he injured his back and couldn’t raise his stock in the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.
He wanted to come to New York long before he had a chance to get passes from Aaron Rodgers.
“I took a chance on being a coach,” TJ said of free agency, “and knew everything was going to work out.”
He has reason to believe.
“His mother is in heaven crying out for joy,” said Virgil. “It’s unbelievable. I keep asking the same question: “Is this real?”