Albany standout walks on at TSU

By Sam Waller

Coming from a small town, Taren Farmer has had his horizons expanded as a walk-on with the Tarle-ton State Texans.

Farmer, a 2022 Albany graduate, spent last year as a redshirt as he learned the ropes of playing football at the FCS level.

“It’s been fun so far,” Farmer said. “I wish I’d been able to play a game, but I was still glad to be a part of it, practicing with the team. It gives me focus.”

After playing defensive end his senior year at Albany, helping the Lions reach the state semifinals, Farmer has been working at outside linebacker at Tarleton. Just getting the opportunity to try out for the team was an experience.

“One of my mom’s friends knew one of the coaches, so we talked to them and sent my film to them,” he said. “They brought me in for a meeting, and I decided to go for it.”

Being in an FCS program, Farmer has had some exposure to big-time college football. The Texans played at TCU last season and will visit Texas Tech on Sept. 16.

“I’d never really been to any college games before I went to Tarleton,” he said. “Last year, I went to the TCU game, and that was pretty exciting with the big stadium and everything. This year, we’re going to play Texas Tech, so that should be a fun game.”

Redshirting last year helped Farmer get into the swing of college classes.

“It definitely took up a lot of time,” he said. “It’s pretty much just school and football. There’s not much free time.”

The Texans began fall camp on Tuesday, Aug. 2, giving Farmer three weeks of practice before classes started this week. Tarleton opens the season Saturday, Sept. 2 at McNeese State.

Coming from a Class 2A high school, Farmer has seen the number of responsibilities lessen in college.

“It’s definitely a big change coming from a smaller school like Albany where you have to practice both sides of the ball and don’t get many breaks,” he said. “Here, you just practice your position and maybe special teams. In Albany, I was doing both offense and defense and then special teams on top of that.”

Much of Farmer’s work last season came on the scout team, requiring him to learn assignments in opponents’ schemes as well as his role within the Texans’ defense. He hopes a good showing on scout team will lead to bigger things in the future.

“It’s all up to me and how much time I put into it. I just need to work hard, really hard,” he said. “I think the coaches like me, so I have that going for me. I’m young and haven’t used any of my eligibility yet, so I’m fine.”