After stops at Texas A&M and Penn State, TJ Shanahan Jr. has landed at the school he grew up rooting for.
The 6-foot-4, 309-pound offensive lineman is the cousin of Jon Halapio, a former Gators offensive lineman and team captain who appeared in 51 games, including 43 starts, from 2009-13.
“I grew up watching him. I remember I came to a spring game like his freshman or sophomore year. I just fell in love with being a Florida Gator,” Shanahan Jr. said. “I was a big fan of Florida growing up. Being here just means a lot to me.”
Shanahan Jr. spoke with Halapio after deciding to leave Penn State and enter the transfer portal.
“He just told me that it’s a special place,” Shanahan Jr. 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.”
As a redshirt junior in 2026, Shanahan Jr. will wear the same number, No. 67, and likely play the same position as Halapio at right guard.
Shanahan Jr.’s connection to Florida wasn’t the only factor in his decision to commit to UF. He had previously been coached by Phil Trautwein, who joined Jon Sumrall’s staff this offseason.
The Orlando, Florida, native was originally recruited to Texas A&M by Steve Addazio, who previously spent six seasons as an assistant on Florida’s staff from 2005-10.
After Addazio’s departure from Texas A&M in 2023, Shanahan Jr. eventually entered the transfer portal looking for a coach who could continue developing him.
“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. It’s a very technical position. When I got in the portal I wanted to find a coach that could coach me like Coach Addazio,” Shanahan Jr. said.
He found that coach in Trautwein at Penn State.
“I was able to find Coach Trautwein at Penn State so it was just a blessing for me,” Shanahan Jr. said. “He coaches me really hard. I just think he’s the best there is. I’m just excited to be in his room and being a player for him.”
Even before Trautwein left Penn State for Florida, Shanahan Jr. knew just how much the Gators meant to his coach. During his visit to Penn State, Trautwein told him there was one job that could pull him away from the Nittany Lions.
“Whenever I was on my visit to Penn State, he told me up front, and he said, ‘I’m not gonna lie, there’s one job that I would leave this place for’, and I kind of knew that just knowing his background and stuff with him playing here and the love that he has for this place. I just know he likes this place a lot, and so do I.”
“He was always rooting for Florida,” Shanahan Jr. added.
For Shanahan Jr., the move to Gainesville has brought together two important parts of his football journey: the coach who helped develop him and the school he grew up watching.
Now, he’ll get the chance to make his own mark at Florida while following in Halapio’s footsteps.