2 SWFL football players work to join final roster of NY Jets

Two Southwest Florida high football players are aiming to make the final roster for the New York Jets.

First, a wide receiver who played at Port Charlotte High School is working hard to keep his promise to his late mother as he tries to make the 53-man roster for the New York Jets.

Even before TJ Luther became a standout for Port Charlotte High, he had considerable big-league aspirations.

“Since I was playing in Pop Warner, I always said I wanted to be an NFL player. That’s always been my dream, my plan A, and I never really had a plan B,” said Luther.

He’s getting that chance as an undrafted rookie for the New York Jets. He’s doing whatever he can to make the 53-man roster.

“I always told my mom I was going to be the first to graduate college, you know, and I did that. I told her I was going to make it to the league, and for me to accomplish those goals and stand on my word as a man, I definitely felt accomplished at that time but definitely have more work to do,” said Luther.

Luther knows his mom Virginia was and always will be his biggest fan.

“She had this little chant. She’s had this chant like, ‘Hey, hey, hey.’ The whole crowd would be going in after her, man. That was like she used to have every game. At first, I was embarrassed about it. Growing up as a kid, I was embarrassed by it, but it kinda grew on me, man,” said Luther.

Luther misses hearing that from the stands. Virginia passed away in 2019. Although, those cheers served as his motivation in college, where Luther emerged as a speedy, athletic and all-American talent at Gardner Webb.

Moving forward, Luther is focused on keeping his promise to his number one fan.

“I knew that the only way I could make it if I compared myself to the bigger schools, the FBS schools, and try to outwork them. I had to outwork them,” said Luther.

Luther has the same mindset for training camp. Whenever he steps onto an NFL field during the 2023 preseason, he’s positive his mom is rooting for him.

“It definitely gives me a lot of confidence knowing I got an extra Angel looking over me, man,” said Luther.

Luther excelled in high school and college, but now he’s ready to do it at the highest level.

Luther isn’t the only Southwest Florida player trying to make the Jets roster.

Claudin Cherelus, from Golden Gate, is also going through camp.

During the grind of his rookie trianing camp the linebacker keeps things in perspective, as he too tries to make it on the 53-man roster.

“I just take a step back, and you know, think I’m here for a reason, like look how far I came, and if I couldn’t overcome some of these obstacles I wouldn’t be here,” he said.

Cherelus signed with the Jets as an undrafted free agent out of Alcorn State, proving doubters wrong every step of the way.

“The main thing I tell myself is keep going,” he said. “My mom always told me that: keep going, and now I’ve been saying change the trajectory.

Cherelus takes great pride in calling Golden Gate his hometown. All you have to do is check his Instagram.

“I always make sure I tag Golden Gate, Florida,” he said, “just you know. It’s kind of like letting people know where I’m from, like small city, like there’s not much that get that opportunity where I’m from.”

Both Luther and Cherelus enjoy calling the Jets new quarterback Aaron Rodgers teammate.

“He a different kind of dude, man,” said Luther, “like never seen a quarterback like him.”

“A rod, my favorite quarterback,” added Cherelus. “I played ‘Madden.’ I only used to use the Packers just because the release time, and you know seeing it in person is like this crazy.”

To make the roster as undrafted rookies, it’s all about going above and beyond.

“You got to stay those extra hours in the facility,” said Cherelus. “You got to steal those reps on look team. You got to steal any rep that you can ge,t even if you’re dead tired. Sometimes I go into the individual dead tired because I’m trying to help out whichever way I can.”