Offensive lineman TJ Shanahan Jr. played in 13 games a season ago for Penn State, starting five. (Photo: Alyssa Morrison/UAA Communications)
A Familiar No. 67: TJ Shanahan's Full-Circle Journey to Florida
Friday, August 21, 2026 | Football
Share:
By: Ryan Roddy, FloridaGators.com Student Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — It was a full-circle moment when TJ Shanahan Jr. landed in Gainesville over the winter.
For Shanahan, the connection to Florida goes back to when he was in elementary school, visiting UF to watch his "godbrother," Jon Halapio, play for the Gators along the offensive line. Now, more than a decade later, Shanahan is wearing the same No. 67 jersey Halapio wore.
"I just fell in love with being a Florida Gator," he said. "I knew that, growing up, just watching him play and years before him and years after him. I was always kind of rooting for Florida. Just the fact that I'm here means a lot to me."
Shanahan took the long way here. TJ Shanahan Jr. (Photo: Logan Bowles/UAA Communications)
Florida isn't Shanahan's first stop in college football. It isn't his second, either.
The Orlando native and former five-star recruit began his career at Texas A&M in 2023, before transferring to Penn State ahead of the 2025 season. It was at Penn State where Shanahan got to know Phil Trautwein, the former Nittany Lions offensive line coach who now holds the same position at Florida.
Shanahan was in search of a coach who emphasized technique and the finer details of playing offensive line.
He found that in Trautwein.
"When I got into the portal from Texas A&M I wanted to find a coach very similar to Coach [Steve Addazio], very technical and kind of by the book with technique and how to play the offensive line,'' Shanahan said. "I was able to find Coach Trautwein at Penn State so it was just a blessing for him. He coaches me really hard. I just think he's the best there is."
When Trautwein accepted the job at Florida — the only job he would have left Penn State for, according to Shanahan — Shanahan asked if he could follow him.
"When Coach Trautwein got here, I didn't know if he wanted me to come here with him or not with him," he said. "We kind of figured that all out and I was able to come here."
In just over a year, Trautwein and Shanahan have built an unmistakable relationship, one built on hard work and trust.
"He's continuing to get better," Trautwein said. "He sees himself getting better. That's why he's here, because he feels like me and him together can get him to reach his maximum potential and get to where his dreams are, which is the NFL and be drafted high.
"He believes in me and I believe in him. So that's the relationship."
The former two-time national champion Gator isn't the only coach to recognize Shanahan's ability.
Florida head coach Jon Sumrall sees from the 6-foot-4, 309-pound Shanahan, along with defensive lineman Brendan Bett, as players bringing a physical edge to the trenches.
"Offensively, I think you feel TJ Shanahan a lot at the line of scrimmage," Sumrall said. "Those are two guys at the line of scrimmage that you don't have to wonder what the play's going to feel like when they're in there. They'll crack the egg. If there's an egg in the middle of somebody's pads, they'll crack that dang thing."
Bett appreciates the opportunity to compete against Shanahan and experience that physicality firsthand.
"Iron sharpens iron," Bett said. "Every time we have pods or one-on-ones, I'm always going against him because I know he's going to be a guy who makes me better, and he knows that as well."
Bett said Shanahan constantly seeks reps against him, including in drills against the defensive tackle lined up at 3-technique.
"But for the most part, he's really been getting me better,'' Bett said.
The physicality Sumrall sees in Shanahan isn't something the offensive lineman believes he developed in college.
He credits his upbringing.
"Growing up, I grew up with two brothers and three sisters and parents that loved me a lot but they were tough on me," he said. "I feel a lot of it is discipline. I feel like it all starts from how I grew up at home."
Offensive lineman TJ Shanahan Jr. pushes himself in an offseason conditioning drill. (Photo: UAA Communications)
Now, as a fourth-year college football player, Shanahan seeks to pass along that mentality to younger teammates.
He and center Harrison Moore have spent extra time working together, and Shanahan hopes younger players can learn from that example.
"Showing them what the grind looks like and hard work," he said. "Me and Harry [Moore], we got a lot of extra work and I feel like that's helped both of us."
Shanahan has already experienced playing in two of the most renowned home-field environments in college football, Texas A&M's Kyle Field and Penn State's Beaver Stadium.
But there's another place he is most eager to run from the tunnel, where they say only Gators get out alive.
"The Swamp, for sure," Shanahan said when asked if The Swamp is better than the 12th Man or Beaver Stadium. "I would just say the atmosphere and Gator Nation. I'm just so excited to witness that on Sept. 5."
