Torrone “T.Y.” McGill Jr. stature of 6 ‘0 and 310 pounds plays defensive tackle for the Los Angeles Chargers. Before playing in the NFL, he played college football at North Carolina State. McGill is an impressive athlete, and was a captain of both the football and basketball teams at Wayne County High School, and was an all-region selection after his junior and senior seasons. McGill was selected to play in the 2010 Georgia North/South All-Star game which led to him being recruited during his senior year by North Carolina State. 

2aDays: Can you tell us a little bit about your background?

T.Y.: I played football all of my life, I played a lot of sports but my favorite was always football. I was recruited during my senior year of high school and I went to NC State for four years, where I played as a true freshman. Now I am signed with the Los Angeles Chargers.

2aDays: Going from high school to college, was there anything that stood out to you that you needed to change in order to be successful at the next level?

T.Y.: The mindset of transitioning from high school to college. You have to grow up fast; you have to study more, do more, watch more film or workout more. There are a lot of different elements, I can't pinpoint one. There are a lot of different things that you have to figure out how to play in college.

2aDays: What was your favorite part about being on a college team?

T.Y.: The locker room. Getting to be around all of your teammates that you have grinded with for three or four years. The locker room gives you the chance to talk about whatever as a team. You don't have the team bonding and comradely anywhere else. Once you get to the league, you still have that, but you still have doubts about different things. You don't know how long you're going to be somewhere in the league but in college, that isn't something you're worried about because you have a scholarship. And you build lifelong friends in college. So definitely the locker room.

2aDays: For the athletes who are looking to play college football, what advice can you give them?

T.Y.: I would definitely say if you're going to take the scholarship and go to a school to play, make sure you know what you're signing up for. It's a huge commitment, so you have to be extremely committed to football. You're basically signing over your life for four years to get up early for team runs and practices, plus you have school. It's a lot being a student-athlete. My advice would be to know what you're getting yourself into, and once you're there to make sure you're giving 100% effort every day. You have to do that.

2aDays: What is the best advice a coach has ever given you?

T.Y.: This might sound really cliché, but if you really think about it, it's everything. Always give 100% effort. One of my favorite coaches I had always preached about effort. That's a big part. Effort is on you, no one can give it besides you. You have to go give 100% every day and if you do that, there is no way that you can't get better. And you have to love what you're doing.

Updated: 9/26/19

* Originally published on September 26, 2019, by Keirsten Sires