Aurora Christian’s Anderson, with offers from Eastern Illinois and Valparaiso, takes game to next level

It’s impossible for TJ Anderson to go unnoticed at Aurora Christian.

The 6-foot-4, 310-pound senior lineman is a mountain of a young man who could be in training for a weightlifting competition. Proof? His program record of a 560-pound squat set as a junior.

Hard as it may be to believe, however, the third-year starter at right tackle who anchors a veteran offensive line for the Eagles is driven by the need for speed.

He knows that aspect can take him places he wants to go.

“I’m just always working on my speed,” Anderson said. “My main concern has always been my feet. I’ve been slower. I lost like 30 pounds last offseason so I could get faster.

“Just did a lot of footwork drills and that kind of stuff.”

Working on ladder drills were his focus in continuing efforts to improve his pass blocking during offseason training at the Realize Athletics facility in his hometown of Sycamore.

That, too, hasn’t gone unnoticed.

“He started as a sophomore playing just on offense,” Aurora Christian coach David Beebe said. “The last two years, though, he’s played defensive tackle as well. He’s a big kid and very strong.

“TJ is a great remover and has been since coming up, but people don’t realize how good his pass protection has become. He’s got light feet, but he can really down block.”

Anderson has been joined this season by returning seniors in 5-8, 260-pound left guard Logan Mahon and 6-2, 240-pound left tackle Jason Haymon as well as 5-8, 195-pound junior center Justin Douglas. David Carrero, a 6-1, 225 senior right guard, is the newcomer to the solid group.

They have paved the way for junior running back Jalen Callaway to average 8.3 yards a carry while piling up 1,193 yards and 18 touchdowns in leading the Eagles (8-1, 5-1) to a tie with Bishop McNamara for first place in the Chicagoland Christian Conference.

“It’s really exciting knowing that the ball is coming our way a lot,” Anderson said. “It’s fun watching Jalen get into the gap and then go far.”

The Irish took the conference title based on winning the teams’ head-to-head matchup, but Aurora Christian is looking ahead to its ninth straight playoff appearance under Beebe.

The Eagles are seeded third in the top half of the Class 3A bracket and drew an opening-round bye. They will play the winner of Friday’s 7 p.m. matchup between 19th-seeded Elmwood-Brimfield (4-5) at 14th-seeded Winnebago (5-4).

“It’s a huge difference with the week off,” Beebe said, breaking down the first year of an expanded playoff. “Not knowing who you’re going to play next, you try to prepare for two teams. But our next game is still sudden death.

“We’re just trying to find out what we can about each of them.”

Anderson, who has mixed in a couple of college game-day visits, has seen an uptick in his recruiting. Last week, he attended a game at Eastern Illinois and received his second Division I scholarship offer to go along with one from Valparaiso.

“It’s been a dream,” he said.

Anderson played flag football through third grade when his family lived in Batavia. He started tackle the following year after moving to Sycamore and played alongside future Aurora Christian teammate Asa Johnson, who started at left tackle before eventually moving to quarterback.

Anderson was a year behind Johnson, who’s now a freshman QB at Northern Illinois.

“I was always big for my age and played up,” Anderson said. “Moving up from JV as a freshman to varsity my sophomore year was a big change, facing older guys and bigger people.

“I was kind of timid.”

Not now.

“He was a little top heavy as a sophomore but gets physically stronger in the legs every year and can carry it better,” Beebe said. “Confidence and experience go with that.”