Sumpter signs letter of intent with Western New Mexico

Fallbrook High School senior T.J. Sumpter has signed a letter of intent to play football at Western New Mexico University.

“I’m just excited to play college football,” Sumpter said.

“I can keep playing football,” he added. “All that hard work gets to pay off.”

Sumpter, whose father spent 12 years in the United States Marine Corps, played football at three different high schools. He spent his elementary and middle school years in Oceanside before the family moved to Murrieta.

Sumpter was on Murrieta Valley High School’s freshman team in 2004 and on the Nighthawks’ junior varsity squad in 2005. After the family moved to Temecula, he played on the Temecula Valley High School varsity squad during his junior year.

The Sumpter family moved to Fallbrook in January 2007 to live with Sumpter’s grandparents, and Sumpter joined the Warrior varsity for his senior season. The Avocado League’s coaches named Sumpter as an honorable mention all-league selection for 2007.

In addition to Western New Mexico University, Sumpter also received interest from Whittier College, Menlo College, the University of New Mexico, and the University of Nebraska.

He had been invited to join New Mexico and Nebraska as a non-scholarship walk-on, and Whittier is a non-scholarship NCAA Division III school, so Sumpter narrowed his choices to Western New Mexico and Whittier.

Sumpter made his official visit to Western New Mexico, which is located in the town of Silver City, on January 20.

“It was a good fit when I visited,” he said. “It was pretty fun hanging out with their coaches and their players.”

Western New Mexico head coach Bernie Busken was able to meet Sumpter and his parents. “Looked to me like they were real quality people, and that’s what we look for first,” Busken said.

Sumpter took a liking to Busken. “He made it more comfortable for me to come in,” Sumpter said. “I won’t have to figure him out or anything like that.”

Western New Mexico University, whose nickname is the Mustangs, is in Division II of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. The Mustangs play in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.

The 2007 football team finished fifth among the nine teams in the conference with a 4-4 record against RMAC opposition and posted an overall record of 4-6.

Sumpter signed his letter of intent with Western New Mexico on February 8. “We’re just excited,” Busken said. “We were really impressed with him.”

Busken plans to use Sumpter as a defensive back. “I think he has a big upside. He’s a little quick guy and does some good things and he’s got an opportunity to come in here and show us what he can do,” Busken said.

Busken prefers to redshirt true freshmen if feasible. “We’ve got a lot of defensive backs back this year, so there will be a good chance for that,” he said. “We also have a commitment to play the best players we have.”

Busken believes that Sumpter’s speed increases his chances of playing as a true freshman. “It’s important that we give kids a chance to play. We run a wide open style on offense and defense,” Busken said.

Sumpter is also on Fallbrook High School’s track team. During the 2007 season he was on the 4x100 relay team which qualified for the CIF meet, and he also ran the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes.

Sumpter was not involved in any spring sports before trying out for the Fallbrook track team as a junior.

Sumpter played freshman basketball for Murrieta Valley High School and spent one game on the Nighthawks’ junior varsity squad as a sophomore before being promoted to the varsity. Due to his transfer he did not play basketball as a junior, and he was on Fallbrook’s varsity team for part of the 2007-08 season.

Sumpter is also active in the youth program at Faith Temple Christian Center, which is located in Oceanside.

“I just think he’ll get better and better and better,” Busken said.