Before he was selected by the Atlanta Falcons as the No. 16 overall pick of the 2020 NFL Draft on Thursday, Aundell "A.J." Terrell Jr. was a standout cornerback and national champion for Clemson University.
Before that, Terrell was a five-star recruit coming out of Westlake High School in Atlanta who quickly made a name for himself thanks to his work ethic and physicality.
Even further back than that, before Terrell was even born, his parents Aliya and Aundell Terrell Sr. were already laying a successful foundation for their future children in Rochester.
“My dad has always been a mentor and role model for me,” A.J. Terrell said. “He’s always had my best interests in mind and he and my mom have played a huge role in pushing me to be great. Now that I have a son (Aundell Terrell III) of my own I’m going to use what my parents taught me to help him be great too.”
Terrell Sr., who Terrell Jr. and Terrell III are named after, was born in Auburn, Cayuga County, and moved to Rochester in the late 1980s with his mother and sister.
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The trio moved to the city’s west side on Arnett Boulevard near Chili Avenue and Terell Sr. attended Edison Tech.
He became a standout running back and cornerback and helped the Inventors win the City-Catholic championship in 1993 before graduating in 1994.
“As a young kid in Rochester you’re really just trying to maneuver your way through the goods and the bads and the streets,” Terrell Sr. said. “A lot of times it’s not easy to dodge all the stuff that goes on. It’s always good for the kids that find themselves and stay busy to stay out of trouble. I’ve always tried to do that.”
It was also at Edison that Terrell Sr. met his future wife Aliya, who was born in Rochester and graduated from the school in 1995. The two have been together since and have been married for 19 years.
After graduating high school Terrell Sr. worked for Bausch + Lomb and played football semi-professionally for the Irondequoit Sting.
He and Aliya also had their first child, Ariel, followed by A.J. and then Arieaunna. A few months after Arieaunna’s birth the Terrell family moved from Rochester to Atlanta in 2001 and have resided there since then.
It was in Atlanta that the family came to its current total of six children with the birth of the youngest Terrell, Avieon.
Terrell Sr., 44, currently works as an electrician and Aliya works as a referral coordinator. Their children have experienced success as well.
There’s A.J., a first-round NFL draft selection and college football national champion while at Clemson; Ariel, a former scholarship track and field athlete at Tennessee and then Western Kentucky; Arieaunna, a current scholarship track and field athlete at West Georgia; and Avieon, a high school sophomore who is already fielding Division I football offers from SEC and ACC schools.
“When I moved to Rochester as a kid it was just me, my mom and my sister so I’ve always made a point to be there and be a role model for my kids,” Terrell Sr. said. “Growing up, there were times I didn’t have the support I think I needed to be the best version of myself. It takes a different kind of individual to actually see that there can be a vision for young black men and women. That’s what I try to provide every day for my children.”
Now, due to the novel coronavirus, all six family members are once again under the same roof and were able to be together when A.J. was drafted.
“It seems since birth A.J. has been preparing to get where he is today,” Terrell Sr. said. “Now here we are, 18 years later, he’s a first-round draft pick to the Atlanta Falcons. It's amazing how hard work and perseverance can pay off.”
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