2010 ATH Tartacoff gaining interest
Montgomery, N.J. junior athlete J.T. Tartacoff is picking up interest from colleges. The 6-foot-0, 184-pounder still hasn't pulled in his first scholarship, but is getting lots of mail.
"I've been getting four or five letters a day from schools," he stated. "I think it's somewhere around 25 or 30 schools sending me stuff. I haven't gotten any offers. Nobody has gotten my tape yet.
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"Some of my top schools sending the most mail are Connecticut, North Carolina, Maryland, Rutgers, Penn State, Duke, Georgia, Notre Dame and UCLA.
"All of these are great schools with great tradition. They have good facilities and academics. They are fun campuses and many of them are close by."
This season Tartacoff took unofficial visits to Rutgers and Connecticut.
"They both were great," he said. "I loved the coaches and facilities. The atmospheres are stadiums were great too."
The Garden State prospect finished his season recently with a 4-6 record.
"We were 4-2 and I was playing running back, wide receiver, cornerback and quarterback, but then in that sixth game I separated my shoulder and was sidelined for three and a half games. I'm much better now and have full motion, but we lost all four games I missed.
"I think I saw a big improvement in the six games I played. I was faster, stronger and I saw holes better."
Tartacoff posted 89 carries for 522-yards and five touchdowns, he added 10 catches for 180-yards and two touchdowns. He also posted one kickoff return for a touchdown and was 6-for-6 for 74-yards passing.
Clearly Tartacoff can play a variety of positions. What stands out about him as a player?
"It's probably my speed," he said. "I've always been fast and I run a good 40 time. I can get up field and run away from guys. I hit the hole hard and my hands are very good. I haven't dropped a pass in two years.
"I do think I definitely can get bigger and stronger. I do need to add a lot more weight. I'm not fully developed. I think I can become even quicker too."
Tartacoff plans to participate in the Army All-American combine in January.