Bollers
- Thread starter CleteyColgate
- Start date
Big games is the SEC bullshit mantra. Somehow SEC games are "bigger" than big ten games. Bring those f-ers up here in November and December to play ball like the NFL does. We will see how well they do.
I've seen him play a handful of times and I'm very confident that 5 second 40 is incorrect.
He plays TE and runs well. He's not a burner but he's faster than 5.0.
He plays TE and runs well. He's not a burner but he's faster than 5.0.
that
Lol...have any of you guys actually seen T.J play? He is quite obviously the best player on the field in every game he plays in. He's a man among boys out there and has been since his sophomore year.
Don't hate on him because he likely wants to go elsewhere. He's a great student and greatly looked up to in our community. Some of you guys are really giving a bad look, cutting on a 17 year old kid like he's a girl who turned you down for prom.
Yes I have. So have others who know a lot more about football than I (and I suspect, you) do and share the same opinion. The takeaways:
- Certainly more athletically gifted than your common small-town Iowa kid that he gets to face every week
- Gets into the backfield and is disruptive 3-4x per game
- Fast enough to chase people down from across the field
- Can dominate when left unblocked or facing someone who is soft
- Was absolutely DRIVEN off of the line and out of the play by a single blocker on more occasions than I felt like keeping track of
- Appeared to have no way of handling double teams from an OL that probably averaged 200 lbs after a big meal
- Made chunk plays as a TE because he was so much bigger/taller/faster than most of the kids on the field and could simply truck them
- Not a physical blocker
- Became visibly frustrated when he was unable to out-physical the opponent and make an impact
- Doesn't appear to have become any more dominant than he was in 9th-10th grade (statistically speaking only, I never saw him play back then)
- Rumored to bench press about as much as I did as a freshman in college despite outweighing me by 80 lbs. (subtle brag)
But, that's just like uh, my opinion, man.
And that's why he's in the top 100 and being recruited by everyone. Lol
He is being recruited by everyone because Iowa offered early (partially because he is a nearby legacy with some legitimate God-given talent they didn't want to be late to the party on) and the hype train took off, after which every other program piggybacked on Iowa's acumen for recognition of talent. Is he good enough to play D1 football? Absolutely. But he is by no means a once-in-a-generation must get for anyone involved. I wish him good luck though.
Not going to get in the muck. The small town guy that I am intrigued by and appears to be a freak is Bruce. And is a Hawkeye.
I’m definitely not hating on him. Good for him that he has all these great offers. He most likely won’t be a Hawk and I really don’t care. I believe 247 had his 40 posted at one time and it was right around 5. Could have changed but if that was accurate it wouldn’t change much. Good luck to him though.
Would guess he's probably a really good player and also a good kid. Also willing to guess he's not exactly the best fit in the Iowa program based off the comments I saw in the article. Seems to really want coaches to fawn over him, check in, and kiss his ass. Similar to some of the guys from a few years ago.
Oh well, someone will get a good player in him and we'll get someone who fits that we turn into a good player.
Oh well, someone will get a good player in him and we'll get someone who fits that we turn into a good player.
I can tell you that guys like fant/hockenson etc are pretty damn good despite their lack of blueblood offers
I'm also pretty sure every kid bama signs doesn't turn into a stud.
that said, I don't watch HS fball and have no clue who is better....
I read where Allen Trieu said he will be a 4th to 6th round NFL pick when he is ready. Come on Allen, where do you get this? These so called recruiting experts are the guys that make me laugh.
Against 2A talent he should dominate, not sure that is the case. I've already wished him the best because I'm pretty sure he won't be a Hawk.
Against 2A talent he should dominate, not sure that is the case. I've already wished him the best because I'm pretty sure he won't be a Hawk.
It's amazing how frequently elite players are "left unblocked." Happens to JJ Watt, Jadeveon Clowney, and AJ Epinesa all the time. I've watched the kid do 1 on 1 drills against very good high school tackles, he was lucky enough to be left unblocked on the great majority of those reps too.
So the only reason he made big plays was because he was bigger, faster, and stronger than his opponents? I agree completely.
Which games was he driven out of the play by a single blocker all night? I don't recall that happening off the top of my head, but I may have missed that game. Let me know, I'll go watch it.
You don't see a difference between him and your buddies? Really? Your buddies had the frame to be a chiseled 260+? Don't get me wrong, I played with a lot of D3 players who killed it in high school and put up HS stats like TJ. Solid players and Iowa is full of them. If you honestly don't see the difference between those guys and TJ with respect to D1 skill set and ceiling, then I don't know what to say. He's an elite PROSPECT, period, and that designation is well earned. The coaches offering TJ don't care about eastern Iowa hype (other than Iowa State), lol.
The kid has the foundation and all the tools to be elite, plus a great family, smarts, and a killer work ethic. Kids say dumb things, I think it's sad so many people here are judging him entirely by one comment... but fwiw TJ is a GREAT kid. Works hard, respectful, and coachable just like all the other Iowa kids our fan base usually loses their minds over.
Wow....
So what other Iowa recruits fit the bold? I mean this must happen all the time (random national name brands like Bama, Washington and Florida just check Iowa offers and follow suit)
I agree, there's always unrecruited guys. Wisconsin gets it's fair share of them too. But the other guy acting like TJB isn't good is beyond all logic. There's literally nothing to back his take except "his opinion". Comes off as sour grapes.
LOL. I have no idea who that Allen Trieu is, but anyone wanting to be taken seriously who makes that kind of projection based on watching a kid play his junior year of small-time Iowa HS football is just being a jackass.
This reminds me of the French kid who went to Oregon. We survived.
I'm not trying to argue with anyone here but when Ferentz and Saban offer you, you're obviously a well sought after talent. There are no two other college coaches more revered by NFL scouts than those two men.
And to those stating Iowa cooled on TJ, Phil and Brian were in attendance for homecoming this year and a BBALL game just a few weeks ago.
We want him, but it sounds like he may just want to spread his wings so to speak; as a life long Iowan I can appreciate wanting to explore somewhere else, where you aren't always the center of attention. I know he gets a lot of pressure locally to stay home, perhaps he just wants to get away from it all.
Great kid from an awesome family. Hope he stays in IC but wish him well wherever he goes.
A couple of quotes from the article on allhawkeyes.com for those that haven't read it......
The 6-foot-3, 240-pound Tiffin native told AllHawkeyes.com on Tuesday that he is confused by the lack of communication and that he is waiting to see if Iowa reestablishes a steady line of communication.
"Really it depends on them,” Bollers said. “Coach Ferentz was at my practice a little bit ago but other than that I’ve had no contact with them. No invites to junior days. Nothing.”
“There are other places that are putting in effort to come see me and make it to my basketball games instead of saying they would and never coming,” Bollers said.
The 6-foot-3, 240-pound Tiffin native told AllHawkeyes.com on Tuesday that he is confused by the lack of communication and that he is waiting to see if Iowa reestablishes a steady line of communication.
"Really it depends on them,” Bollers said. “Coach Ferentz was at my practice a little bit ago but other than that I’ve had no contact with them. No invites to junior days. Nothing.”
“There are other places that are putting in effort to come see me and make it to my basketball games instead of saying they would and never coming,” Bollers said.
To the lurking ISU & Neb fans, U guys have lost FIVE in a row to Iowa!! How embarrassing. If my team lost FIVE in a row to a rival, I wouldn’t make a single comment on their board until my team beat them. But we are the bitter ones???
This was a very recent article. So I’m guessing that the rumors about Iowa cooling on Bollers are true. The article says that the lack of contact began recently which kind of makes sense to me.
I don’t believe it’s a knock on the kid’s talent or character that Iowa has began to slow his recruitment. I think it has more to do with what TJ wants in a defense and his more recent comments about that. If he wants to play in a 3-4, possibly a different position than Iowa wants him at and it’s out that he’s leaning schools that fit that bill, then it’s understandable why Iowa may not be in contact as much anymore. Iowa isn’t going to change their defense and they are going to put TJ where they need him.
I wouldn’t expect Iowa to want to waste much further time with TJ given all of that info. I would expect Iowa to look elsewhere for players who believe the fit the Iowa defense.
Now if TJ was still strongly considering Iowa and the defensive scheme didn’t really matter all that much to him, then he played his recruitment all wrong. He may needed to reach out to Iowa because he may have unintentionally ended his recruitment with Iowa by his comments.
Or maybe the Iowa staff agrees with Bollers and he’s fits better in a 3-4 defense?
Just something to think about.
I remember the French recruiting Super Bowl. I didn't pay much attention after he went to the Ducks - but (I don't think?) he did much? Did he make it to the NFL?
Maybe shoulda went to the Hawks with all the people they put in the league.
Agree with this ..... if TJ specifically wants to play a "certain" position in a "certain" scheme - Iowa isn't gonna change what it does. The QB position is famous for this - a kid grows up being the QB and thinks he's gonna be Joe Montana all the way through. Not many Joe Montana's around.
Pretty sure Scotty - would tell TJ whatever he wants to hear and then when he gets there Scotty will have a serious case of amnesia.
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The thing that emanates from all the Boller's tweets is that he, himself, has pushed the Iowa staff away from actively pursuing him.
His best bet would have been to tweet less and let things play out. He chose to make it public. I don't blame the Hawk staff one bit.
His best bet would have been to tweet less and let things play out. He chose to make it public. I don't blame the Hawk staff one bit.
Basically Bielema was known to make offers to Iowa recruits without doing his own “groundwork”.
I wish Bollers the best, but i do think its BS that he called out the coaching staff to the media. Especially since Iowa cant comment on high school recruits. I am sure there is more to the story.
Reese Morgan leaving has a lot do with it. Sounds like he was the one who had the recruiting relationship with Bollers. When he left Iowa, I dont think the relationship really went anywhere with Iowa for whatever reason. Kind of an odd situation it seems because Reese was recruiting him pretty hard.
If Iowa hasn’t followed up at all after an initial visit from Ferentz, and knowing how highly rated he is, then that’s pretty telling. I’ll leave it at that.
I agree with you about Bruce - a very interesting prospect with a rare combination of size, quickness, and legitimate sprinter's speed. I hope they keep him at DE.
To me, this story more closely resembles last year's saga with Illinois RB Jirehl Brock.
It was my impression that after a long courtship involving extended personal contact and numerous visits, Iowa coaches had finally reached a point where they had done all they could and decided to focus their attention on other prospects. Tyler Goodson signed with Iowa shortly thereafter. Things tend to work out in the end.
He moved to defense at NikeU despite his lack of being physical.
Had a cup of coffee in the nfl and now probably sitting in a cubicle at nike making six figures.
Kid was a freak who probably would have been pro bowl TE.
