A year ago, South Carolina linebacker T.J. Brunson made a point of becoming a constant presence around one of his older teammates.
He was the new face in an experienced room. He needed to soak some of that in.
“I followed Jon Walton around a lot,” Brunson said. “He gave me pointers and tips and helped me understand things that didn’t click easily for me.”
That was a luxury afforded to last year’s T.J. Brunson, a freshman trying to pick up the college game and playing only a short drive from home in Northeast Columbia. This year’s Brunson finds himself in a different spot.